Hobbies And Interests
Epiphytes
"Hitchhikers" upon other plants, epiphytes are not parasites. They seek support or a position closer to the light. Mosses and lichens, including Spanish moss, are epiphytes. So are many orchids, ferns and bromeliads or "air plants." Epiphytes live in tropical rainforests and in the temperate moist forests of Cornwall, Ireland and America's Pacific Northwest. Many have aerial roots. Others have funnel-shaped leaves directing moisture into pools within the plant. Often frogs, snails and insects inhabit these pools. The pools also trap falling leaves and dying insects. Decaying, these supply the epiphyte with nutrients. "Ant plants" are specialized epiphytes of South East Asia. Providing ants homes in special chambered roots, the plants receive earth, feces and ultimately corpses in exchange.
Carnivorous Plants
Obtaining nourishment from insects and small animals is developed one step further by true carnivores. Luring insects to their death, these plants use attractive smells and sticky traps. Pitcher plants are one example found in marshy woodland and rainforests.
Hemi-parasites
Taking nutrients from trees, but capable of photosynthesizing some of their own nourishment, mistletoes are "hemi-parasitic." Dwarf mistletoe is considered a serious pest by the U.S. forestry industry, though by killing some trees mistletoe lets in light, encouraging plant diversity. Parasitizing pine tree roots, the senna plant causes serious damage in Florida and Georgia. Capable of germinating without a host, it becomes fully parasitic on the pine as it grows.
True Parasites
Parasitic plants include Indian pipe ("corpse plant"), pine drops and related plants of fungal appearance. Feeding on subterranean funguses and lacking chlorophyll, most are red or ghostly white.
Vines and "Stranglers"
Climbing trees to reach the sunlight, vines provide natural stairways for wildlife to travel between trees. Some, including the strangler figs of the tropical rainforest, begin as epiphytes, then send down long roots. Rooting, the vines begin encasing and killing the tree. The proportion of vines in forests is increasing worldwide, from Virginia creeper and poison ivy to tropical lianas. Scientists speculate this may be due to increasing carbon dioxide emissions. Creepers and trees both feed on carbon dioxide. Creepers feed and grow faster, however, displacing trees.
Intruders
Escaping from gardens, some unusual plants are invading our forests, displacing native plants. Wisteria climbs into the forest canopy, strangling trees. Smelling unpleasant when stepped upon, skunk vine has distinctive white and purple flowers. Identify chocolate vine by sets of five leaves, purple flowers and bean-like seed pods. Recognize the air potato and the Chinese yam by potato-like fruits hanging from vines in trees. Currently pests in just a few states, these plants will likely invade more forests. They are listed as federal noxious weeds. Report sightings.