rainforest issues
Strangler Fig … terror of the rainforest
When it comes to a fight, the leafy jungle is just as competitive as the concrete jungle. No holds are barred in the race to the top. In the concrete jungle the ultimate prize is money and power. In the rainforest it is sunlight and power.
Plants need sunlight to prosper and some need a lot. That poses problems if you start life on the forest floor. As a lowly seed you won’t make it to the top unless a gale blows down mummy and her friends — a bit like waiting for the boss to die.
This gloomy scenario applies to most rainforest trees — but not the strangler fig. In corporate terms, its strategy is takeover followed by asset stripping. It issues an attractive share offer (figs). The birds (punters) act as intermediaries. They take the figs, digest the bits they want and discharge the rest — otherwise known as toxic assets.
The toxic assets (seeds) are deposited in the upper branches of a potential victim (tree) and sprout. The seedlings have a place in the sun and prosper at their host’s expense. They plant roots in their host’s bark and sap its strength.
Their next trick is to send down aerial roots. These reach the forest floor and dig themselves in. The fig’s life as a strangler has now begun. Shoots spring up and envelop the host. In time it dies and the triumphant fig takes its place.
If you take a walk in the rainforests of Queensland and northern New South Wales, you will see strangler figs and their hosts in various stages of takeover.
My wife took the photo (above) on a recent walk in the rainforest in the Gold Coast hinterland. The old (now dead) tree can be seen inside the lattice work of the strangler. One tree has replaced another.
More tales: http://mikestales.wordpress.com
About the Author
I either started off on the wrong foot or I’m the legendry rolling stone. Normally, a degree in astrophysics does not lead to a stint in Parliament House, public relations, backpacker resorts and the diving industry. But that’s what happened to me. I’m now retired in the sense that I no longer need to work for a living and that gives me a lot of time for travelling and writing.
My web pages:
http://shadymike.wordpress.com
http://mikestales.wordpress.com
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