They appear to thrive in the most inhospitable places where rocks dominate and there is little soil to be seen. This way of life in fact requires those same abilities that are needed to grow on cliff faces in the inland. Strangler figs start their life as an epiphyte , germinating high above the soil of the forest floor. Their roots slowly grow down towards the soil and the fig ceases being an epiphyte and takes on the normal lifestyle with roots in the soil. The ability to grow as an epiphyte, far above the regular supply of water and minerals available in the soil, allows the fig tree to grow on exposed rocky hill tops or on cliff faces.
Figs are able to conserve water, despite their big leaves.
The shiny surface helps reflect away light and the stomates in the leaves close rapidly when water loss is high. Figs can also drop their leaves during periods of extreme stress. Probably one of the most interesting things about figs is each species is completely dependent on their own particular species of wasp for pollination. A small gall wasp completes its life cycle inside the figs, pollinating the flowers in the process. The fig is then dependent on a further animal to achieve dispersal of the seeds.