Even rhododendrons and umbrella trees sometimes grow as epiphytes in the rainforest. Mosses, orchids and some gingers and ferns all grow attached to trees, shrubs, and lianas. Some of the largest epiphytes are the giant bird's nest ferns, which can be massive basket-shaped cachements for fallen leaves and debris. As the debris rots, it nourishes the fern as well as insects and other small invertebrates. Frogs and skinks often hunt for their food in them, cuscus hide in them, and some birds build nests in them.
Most orchids are epiphytic.
Rainforest climbing plants include vines, lianas, and climbing snake ferns. Their seeds germinate on the forest floor and the seedlings grow upward, entwining host trees and becoming thick and woody lianas. Once they have reached the canopy, they travel horizontally across tree crowns for sometimes great distances. Strangling and parasitic plants also exist in the understory. The first category includes fig trees, whose indigestible seeds are eaten by birds and voided high up in the understory.