Strangler Figs

 

A Strangler Fig (Ficus aurea) strangling
a hardwood tree.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

What an ominous name, Strangler Fig.  It suggests an exploitation flick with a dark night, a creaking door, and screams.  But the real Strangler Figs (Ficus sp.) are slower and perhaps more insidious than villains in teen slasher movies. 

 

A Strangler Fig on a hardwood tree. The leaves of the 
Strangler Fig are in the upper right of the photo. 
Lantana Nature Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Strangler Fig leaves.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

The Florida Strangler Fig, Ficus aurea, grows in south Florida, the West Indies and Central America.  Its story starts with a bird dropping a seed high in a tree.  This seed germinates and begins life as an epiphyte on the host tree, doing photosynthesis, absorbing water and scarce nutrients from the air and bark.  The Strangler Fig makes a few leaves then begins to send long roots down along the trunk of the host.  If a root contacts the ground the Strangler Fig begin can begin rapid growth.  More roots grow down and fuse eventually surrounding the trunk of the host tree, thus beginning the strangulation. 

 

A Strangler Fig showing its extensive network 
of aerial roots.  
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Branches of the Strangler Fig grow into the canopy and where the broad leaves compete with the host for light.  The Strangler Fig roots crowd the roots of the host and deprive it of water and inorganic nutrients.  Finally, the Stranger Fig encloses the host tree.  As the host grows in diameter its vascular tissue is crushed by the surrounding wood of the fig.  This prevents transport of sugars and kills the host. 

 

Strangler fig leaves.  This is an early stage
of growth on a Cabbage Palm (Sabal palmetto).
Green Cay Wetlands, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Not all host trees are at equal risk.  Cabbage Palms (Sabal palmetto) are a commonly host of Strangler Figs in Florida.  These small palms do not have secondary growth that increases their diameter and they are not crushed by the fig.  Other tree species, at least early in their interaction with the Florida Strangler Fig, have some protection from hurricane winds because they get additional support from the fig. 

Detail of a Strangler Fig on hardwood.
Lantana Nature Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

When a host tree dies, the Strangler Fig remains behind.  You can find the dead trunk of the original host still standing and occasionally the host trunk decays leaving a hollow chimney surrounded by a mature fig tree. 

 

Strangler Fig.
Lantana Nature Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Some Strangler Fig seeds land on the ground rather than high in a tree.  These seeds germinate and develop into free-standing Strangler Figs.  These ground spouting trees still produce the extensive aerial root system and sometimes the roots cover the ground around a large trunk. 

 

A Strangler Fig grown from a seed on the soil.  
Its root system covers the ground under the tree.
Lantana Nature Preserve, Palm Beach County, Florida. 

The fruits of Strangler Figs are small and they are an important food for many animals including bats, monkeys, birds and insects.  Some of the seeds eaten by these creatures will be deposited in other trees and the cycle begins again.   

 

Fruits of Strangler Fig.
Palm Beach County, Florida.

While their name suggests these plants are a danger in their environment, they really play a vital role in the ecosystem.  In rainforests, the Florida Strangler Fig is a keystone species of the forest canopy.  They provide food for many animals and while some host trees are strangled others are saved from high winds by the support of the fig.  If you are in the woods of south Florida or the American tropics look for stranglers, but don’t fear the fig. 

Crowned Heads - Part 2

 

A  male Northern Cardinal (Cardinalis cardinalis).
This bird's crest is laying down, showing he is relaxed.
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina.

Crests and crowns.  Birds use them to attract mates, scare off rivals and maybe just to look good.  Northern Cardinals (Cardinalis cardinalis) and their desert dwelling relatives, Pyrrhuloxias (Cardinalis sinulatus) have impressive crests.  Northern Cardinals are named for the Cardinals of the Catholic Church, whose robes are bright red.  Only the male Northern Cardinal is red, the female is brown with some red in her crest, wings and tail.   Both sexes have impressive crests they can raise and lower as the situation demands.  

A female Northern Cardinal bathing in a stream.
Her crest is raised as she enjoys the water.
Salineno Wildlife Preserve, Starr County, Texas.

Pyrrhuloxias are found in the southwest, from Texas to Arizona and south into Mexico.  Female and male Pyrrhuloxias are both gray but males are distinguished by a red face, breast and crest.  Male and female Pyrrhuloxias have bright yellow beaks and their crests are longer and thinner that those of Northern Cardinals. 

 

A female Pyrrhuloxia (Cardinalis sinulatus).
Portal, Arizona.

A male Pyrruloxia.
Portal, Arizona.

Pileated Woodpeckers (Dryocopus pileatus) are large, loud and have impressive red crests.  In fact, the name pileated refers to its crest, the pileum.  

 

A Pileated Woodpecker (Dryocopus pileatus)
with its brilliant red crest. 
Palm Beach County, Florida. 

Many Tyrant Flycatchers (Family Tyrannidae) have a prominent crest.  Eastern Phoebes (Sayornis phoebe) are small, gray flycatchers with a crest.  They live in  eastern North America and are often found near water.  They sally forth from exposed perches and pick insects from the air.  Great-crested Flycatchers (Myiarchus crinitus) are another species of eastern flycatcher with rich brown wings, a gray head and yellow belly.  Despite their name, flycatchers prefer to eat beetles, butterflies and bees.  This family also includes several species of kingbirds who are natural crown wearers.  Kingbirds have a crest topped by a crown of red feathers that are seen when the bird is agitated.  

Eastern Phoebe (Sayornis phoebe).
Mecklenburg County, North Carolina. 

Great-crested Flycatcher (Myiarchus crinitus).
Catawba College Ecological Preserve,
Rowan County, North Carolina.

Couch's Kingbird (Tyrannus couchii). 
Aransas National Wildlife Refuge, Texas.  

Titmice (genus Baeolophus) are small, gray, North American songbirds.  There are five species of titmice and they are all crested.  In the east we have the Tufted Titmouse (Baeolophus bicolor).  The Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus) is found from southern Oklahoma, down through Texas and into Mexico.  This bird is very similar to the Tufted Titmouse except for the black crest.  In fact, they were considered the same species until 2002. I think the most impressive member of the genus is the Bridled Titmouse (Baeolophus wollweberi).   It is found in the deserts and mountains of southern Arizona, New Mexico and Old Mexico.  The Bridled Titmouse is typical of the genus from the neck down, but its head has jaunty black and white stripes that extend up its peaked crest. 

 

Tufted Titmouse (Baeolohus bicolor).
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

Black-crested Titmouse (Baeolophus atricristatus).
Salineno Wildlife Refuge, Starr County, Texas. 

Bridled Titmouse (Baeolophus wollweberi).
Patagonia Lake State Park, Arizona. 

Two species of waxwings are found in North America.  Cedar Waxwings (Bombycilla cedrorum) breed in southern Canada and the northern United States.  They winter in much of the United States and south to Central America.  These beautiful birds look very smooth, as if they were a carving.  Cedar Waxwings are brown and gray with a black mask and yellow tips on the tail feathers. Adult Cedar Waxwings have a red waxy spot on the wing feathers.  Cedar Waxwings have a crest that often lays flat on the head.  The diet of Cedar Waxwings is mostly fruit, but they also eat the small, fleshy cones of junipers and cedars. 

 

Cedar Waxwing (Bombycilla cedrorum)
showing its crest and red wax spots on the wings. 
Catawba College Ecological Preserve,
Rowan County, North Carolina. 

The Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) is the northern counterpart of the Cedar Waxwing.  They are slightly larger than Cedar Waxwings with a similar color patten, but the Bohemian Waxwings have reddish-brown under the tail and on the face.   

 

Bohemian Waxwing (Bombycilla garrulus) eating
European Mountain Ash (Sorbus aucuparia). 
Lake County, Minnesota. 

Two Cedar Waxwings and a Bohemian Waxwing in a Christmas card pose.
Lake County, Minnesota. 

Golden-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia atricapilla) are a western species that breeds in Alaska and western Canada.  They winter down the west coast of the United States and into Baja, Mexico.  Male and female Golden-crowned Sparrows have similar plumage with brown wings and tail, gray breast, black head and, of course, that golden crown. 

 

A Golden-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia atricapilla) 
perched on a road sign.
Nome, Alaska. 

White-crowned Sparrows (Zonotrichia leucophrys) are close relatives of Golden-crowned Sparrows.  They breed across northern North America, the Rocky Mountains and the west coast.  These sparrows are highly migratory and winter throughout most of the United States and into Mexico. White-crowned Sparrows have a small pink beak, with black and white stripes on the head including a bold white crown.  

White-crowned Sparrow (Zonotrichia leucophrys)
Forsyth County, North Carolina.

These crowned birds impress us just by going about their daily activity, much as human royals do. So when you are out and about, watch for crests and crowns.