Monkeys, macaws, bats, and other animals who eat the tree's sweet fruit distribute the strangler fig's seeds throughout the canopy by defecating in the tree tops. Once a seed germinates in the high canopy, a single root grows down to floor of the forest and swells to a large diameter. This root provides the first secure anchor to the host tree and life line to the nutrient rich soil and water below.
More roots grow downward and wrap around the host tree's trunk.
Meanwhile, strangler fig branches and leaves begin to grow skyward, gradually overshadowing the host tree. In a period of 200 years, the strangler fig will effectively cut off all vital water, sunlight, and nutrient sources of the host tree with its constricting weave of roots and branches. The Brazil nut tree produces round, woody fruits. The fruits, which are ripe from November to June, have been used by humans in a variety of ways. The Brazil nut oils are often used in cooking and to make soap.