Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ficus (Urostigma) Say WHAT?

Banyan Trees, common in Florida I have a love for all trees, ugly, beautiful, tall, short any tree at all. Especially dead trees, they have a beauty of their own, but that is another post. Until recently I had no idea that all of the pictures I am posting today are the same family of trees. English Name is Strangler Fig.

I called this one a fig tree.









I called this a Strangler FigThis one I called a Banyan Tree
By 1634, English writers began to tell of the banyan tree, a tree under which Hindu merchants would conduct their business. The tree provided a shaded place for a village meeting or for merchants to sell their goods. Eventually "banyan" became the Name of the tree itself.

A banyan is a
fig that starts its life as an epiphyte when its seeds germinate in the cracks and crevices on a host tree and the Older banyan trees are characterized by their aerial prop roots which grow into thick woody trunks which, with age, can become indistinguishable from the main trunk, the birds drop the seeds in the branches, the branch starts to grow and drops down to the ground and forms what looks like trunks around the original trunk.
Like those of us that fit ( or try to)into the Human Race, each of us can look and act in a different way, but we are all the same, one family of beings, all the same but different.
all three of the above trees are Strangler Figs, they have diverse names, habits, colors and looks but they are still one family. Ah diversity, who knew trees were just like US?

5 comments:

Madeline said...

Beautiful pictures. These trees look like they could be alive themselves. I love all the roots on the top of the ground and uniqueness of each tree, their twists and turns.

MedaM said...

This post is great. Those trees look so impressive. What interesting shapes and roots they have! On the sixth photo it looks like a slim man stuck on the tree with his back turned to the truck. His hands are raised up (the left hand is cut off). I’ve never seen something like this. Thanks for sharing. Your photos are really beautiful.

Beverly said...

Those roots look like some monster that just keeps on producing more tentacles. Whenever I see a little strangler fig growing near on a tree of mine, I cut its little life short!

One of the best examples of a strangler fig is at Sarasota Jungle Gardens, but I know you know that.

Unknown said...

The trees are beautiful, and thanks for the education. The roots on top of the ground are fantastid.

Ginny Hartzler said...

Well, I never! This is amazing! It would have made a good episode of "Star Trek". What a story.The pictures themselves ought to be framed as artwork. Especially the ground roots, which are unlike any roots I've ever seen. What a treat for me, as living in Virginia, I've never seen such a thing, or heard such a story. I think you just trumped my Ice Halo!!