Staghorns grow best in shaded areas. The knees are thought to aid the roots by providing oxygen to the often-waterlogged cypress. A close-up of the buttressed bases of cypress trees. Cypress tree trunks are usually enlarged at the base and spread into buttresses. While here they may look like vines, strangler figs are trees that begin growth from a dispersed seed.
Strangler figs grow above the canopy of their host tree and send aerial roots down to the ground.
In many cases, the strangler fig will engulf and kill the host tree. Orchids are incredibly diverse. Some have a single flower and others have many flowers. Some orchids are epiphytes and others grow in the soil. Some orchids have no smell, while others have spicy or offensive scents.