The strangler fig

绞杀無花果属植物

Like many other tropical rain forest, Sungai Tiang of the Royal Belum State Park is home to many species of strangler trees. 

When I encountered this strangler fig, I was curious to find out the condition of the host tree being strangled. 

When I encountered this strangler fig (photo above), I was curious to find out the condition of the host tree being strangled. 

So I walked away from the tree far enough to look at its top, and found that most of the leaves of the host tree have dropped, indicating it is dying (Photo below).

The host tree at the center is dying due to the strangler tree.  The leaves at the top have dropped.

Another wrangler fig species at Royal Belum.

This wrangler tree at Royal Belum has successfully killed a host tree and continue to grow strong.

But a strangler fig tree is not just a murderer tree in the forest as it seems. Many studies have shown that figs sustain more species of birds and mammals than any other trees, making them vital to rainforests.

As Wikipedia describes strangler figs….”These plants begin life as hemiepiphytes, when their seeds, often bird-dispersed, germinate in crevices atop other trees. These seedlings grow their roots downward and envelop the host tree while also growing upward to reach into the sunlight zone above the canopy.

An original support tree can sometimes die, so that the strangler fig becomes a "columnar tree" with a hollow central core. However, it is also believed that the strangler fig can help the support tree survive storms.”

Wikipedia 对这种物种如此叙述：

绞杀植物，又名殺手樹，指一种植物以附生来开始它的生长，然后通过根茎的成长成为独立生活的植物，并采用挤压、攀抱、缠绕等方式盘剥寄树营养，剥夺寄树的生存空间，从而杀死寄树。

绞杀植物介于藤本植物和附生植物之间，主要生活在热带雨林中。其主要种属有桑科的榕属、五加科的鸭脚木属、漆树科的某些种属等。在其它区域如亚热带和温带森林中绞杀植物的种类和个体数量，均远远少于热带雨林。