Some of them have tangled roots that act like sponges or traps to catch decaying matter that provide nutrition. Some of them may send roots to the ground and strangle their hosts. Others have swollen root reservoirs, called pseudobulbs, to store water. About 9,000 species of orchids are epiphytic. Below we see two pictures of lianas forming a bridge between two trees.
Lianas are important to the Amazonian Indian shamans.
These medicine men produce cures for many ills.