Konrad Wothe / Strangler Fig Tree (Ficus virens) beside water in rainforest, Lake Eacham NP, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October 2010

Konrad Wothe / Looking up the roots of a Strangler / Curtain Fig Tree (Ficus virens) rainforest, Curtain Fig Tree NP, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, October

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) that has killed its host tree long ago. The host has rotted away, leaving a hollow center. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Jack Dykinga / Roots of Fig trees (Ficus sp) growing in the collapsed Cenote Oxpeejool (sink hole), near Tekax, Yucatan, Mexico. Afternoon light illuminates the elongated cavern on the right. October 2009

Jack Dykinga / Cenote Samula (sink hole) with elongated roots of a Fig tree (Ficus sp) from ground level descending to the subterranian tourquoise coloured water below. Rays of sulight pass through the hole to illum...

Mark Bowler / Looking up the stilt roots of a Fig tree (Ficus sp), Botanical Gardens, Entebbe, Uganda, July 2006

Kim Taylor / Aerial root structure of Weeping Fig tree (Ficus benjamina). Asia

Elio Della Ferrera / Figs ripening on Fig tree {Ficus sp} Assam, North East India, Indian Subcontinent

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots of Fig tree, Ficus sp. Yasuni NP. Ecuador Amazonia

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots of Ficus tree, Yasuni NP, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots of Ficus tree, Yasuni NP, Amazon rainforest, Ecuador, South America

Pete Oxford / Buttress root of fig tree {Ficus sp} in rainforest Yasuni NP, Ecuador

Juan Manuel Borrero / Illustration of Fig tree (Ficus carica) with detail of fruit and leaves. Pencil and watercolor painting.

David Pattyn / Hanuman / Northern Plains Grey Langur (Semnopithecus entellus) family resting in roots of Banyan tree. Ranthabore National Park, India, June.

Jabruson / 'Ngoumou' strangler Fig tree (Ficus sp) wrapped around host tree, which it will eventually kill. The latex (Idjoro) is used for killing birds by local people, hunters roll the latex onto sticks which...

Jabruson / 'Ngoumou' strangler Fig tree (Ficus sp) wrapped around host tree, which it will eventually kill. The latex (Idjoro) is used for killing birds by local people, hunters roll the latex onto sticks which...

Christophe Courteau / Fruit of the Fig tree (Ficus mucoso) fed on by Chimpanzees in the Kibale Rain Forest, Uganda

Luiz Claudio Marigo / Molemb-de-barbela ficus tree (Ficus cyclophylla) Tableland Atlantic Rainforest of Vale Natural Reserve, municipality of Linhares, Espírito Santo State, Eastern Brazil, January 2012.

Kevin Schafer / Aerial roots of Curtain fig tree (Ficus virens) Curtain Fig National Park, Yungaburra area, Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia, December

Sandesh Kadur / A Khasi woman and children wash clothes along a stream. In the background is a living-root double-decker bridge in the background. These structures are created by entwining the aerial roots of the Fic...

Paul Harcourt Davies / Cultivated Fig tree (Ficus carica) with over-ripe fruit, bursting after autumnal rains. Italy, Europe.

Paul Harcourt Davies / Cultivated Fig tree (Ficus carica) with over-ripe fruit, bursting after autumnal rains. Italy, Europe

Nick Garbutt / Pool and cave with large Indian banyan Tree (Ficus benghalensis) Tsimanampetsotsa National Park, South West Madagascar. (digitally stitched image)

Tim Laman / Cross section of a fig from the Strangler fig (Ficus dubia) Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Tim Laman / Fruits and leaves of the Strangler fig (Ficus dubia) among the leaf litter on the forest floor. Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus kerkhovenii) tree in the lowland rainforest of Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Close up of Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots wrap around a host tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Close up of Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots wrap around a host tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots wrap around a host tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) tree with decomposing host tree visible in the center. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus kerkhovenii) tree in the lowland rainforest of Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots descend a host tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Close up of Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) that has killed its host tree long ago. The host has rotted away, leaving a hollow center. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) with its roots wrapped around its host tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus stupenda) roots wrap around a host tree and descend to the ground. Host is a giant Dipterocarp tree (Shorea sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indones...

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus stupenda) growing on its host tree. Its roots wrap around a host tree and descend to the ground. Host is a giant Dipterocarp tree (Shorea sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung...

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus stupenda) growing on its host tree. Its roots wrap around a host tree and descend to the ground. Host is a giant Dipterocarp tree (Shorea sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung...

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus stupenda) growing on its host tree. Its roots wrap around a host tree and descend to the ground. Host is a giant Dipterocarp tree (Shorea sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung...

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots descend the side of a larger dipterocarp tree. Lowland rainforest in Borneo. Gunung Palung National Park, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler Fig (Ficus sp.) roots descend a host tree. Lowland rainforest, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) seedling growing in a tree crotch high in the rainforest canopy, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Canopy level view of a Strangler fig (Ficus kerkhovenii) tree in lowland rainforest, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Cross section of fig from the Strangler Fig (Ficus stupenda) Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Fruits of a climbing fig (Ficus punctata) - a woody liana that climbs up trunks and branches of large canopy trees, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Cross section through fruit of a climbing fig (Ficus punctata) - a woody liana that climbs up trunks and branches of large canopy trees, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Cross section through fruit of a climbing fig (Ficus punctata) - a woody liana that climbs up trunks and branches of large canopy trees, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Cluster of figs from the understory tree (Ficus schwartzii) on leaves of that species. Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Fruiting branch of small understory fig species (Ficus sp), Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Fruiting branch of small understory fig species (Ficus sp), Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Fruits of a climbing fig (Ficus punctata) - a woody liana that climbs up trunks and branches of large canopy trees in Borneo, Gunung Palung National Park, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) seedling germinating from seeds deposited in moss on a branch high in the canopy. Lowland rainforest, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) roots wrapped around a giant diptocarp host tree and entering a knot hole in the host. Lowland rainforest, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesi...

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) large leaves of a seedling growing in a tree crotch high in the rainforest canopy, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) large leaves of a seedling growing in a tree crotch high in the rainforest canopy, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) large leaves of a seedling growing in a tree crotch high in the rainforest canopy, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Tim Laman / Strangler fig (Ficus stupenda) large leaves of a seedling growing in a tree crotch high in the rainforest canopy, Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, West Kalimantan, Indonesia.

Alan Watson / Buttressed tree (Ficus tilifolia) in rainforest at 950 meters, Ranomafana National Park, Madagascar

Suzi Eszterhas / Wild figs (Ficus sp.) food source for chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes) Tropical forest, Western Uganda,

Nick Upton / Chinese banyan tee (Ficus microcarpa) with many prop roots supporting main trunk and aerial roots hanging from branches. Chaishan, Kaohsiung, Taiwan.

Alan Watson / Strangler fig (Ficus sp) Buttress roots, in lowland tropical rainforest, Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Alan Watson / Higueron tree (Ficus sp) buttresses roots, in lowland tropical rainforest, Coqui, Chocó Department, Pacific Coast, Colombia

Alan Watson / Higueron tree (Ficus sp) buttresses roots, in lowland tropical rainforest, Coqui, Chocó Department, Pacific Coast, Colombia

Alan Watson / Aerial roots of a Strangler fig (Ficus sp) in lowland tropical rainforest, Coqui, Chocó Department, Pacific Coast, Colombia

Alan Watson / Aerial roots of a Strangler fig (Ficus sp) in lowland tropical rainforest, Coqui, Chocó Department, Pacific Coast, Colombia

Guy Edwardes / Close-up of leaf vein structure in Fig leaf (Ficus carica) Dorset, UK, September

Tim Laman / Aerial roots of Strangler fig tree (Ficus virens) known as the "Cathedral Fig", Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Tim Laman / Aerial roots of Strangler fig tree (Ficus virens) known as the "Cathedral Fig", Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Tim Laman / Fig tree (Ficus sp) growing on a huge boulder at the entrance to the side valley known as the "Moss Garden" in Carnarvon Gorge, Carnarvon National Park, Queensland, Australia

Tim Laman / Aerial roots of Strangler fig tree (Ficus virens) known as the "Cathedral Fig", Atherton Tablelands, Queensland, Australia

Tim Laman / A cauliflorous fruiting fig, possibly Ficus variegata, Huon Peninsula, Marobe Province, Papua New Guinea

Inaki Relanzon / Fig tree (Ficus sp) branches growing in rock crevices, Isalo National Park, South Madagascar

Nick Garbutt / Wild Fig tree (Ficus sp) in fruit. Fruiting from trunk called cauliflory. Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Nick Garbutt / Wild Fig tree (Ficus sp) in fruit. Fruiting from trunk called cauliflory. Kinabatangan River, Sabah, Borneo, Malaysia

Nick Garbutt / Fruits of Fig {Ficus sp} growing directly from trunk (cauliflory), Ranomafana National Park, SE Madagascar.

Jouan & Rius / Looking up inside a Strangler fig tree (Ficus watkinsiana), Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Suns rays on Watkinsiana fig (Ficus watkinisiana) in rainforest, Dorringo National Park, New South Wales, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Strangler fig (Ficus watkinsiana) tree, Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Looking up inside a strangler fig tree (Ficus watkinsiana), Bunya Mountains National Park, Queensland, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Fig tree (Ficus avi-avi) tropical forest, Ankarana Special Reserve, Madagascar

Tim Laman / Fruit of a wild fig species (Ficus sp.) in the rainforest, Viti Levu Island, Fiji.

Tim Laman / Fruit of a wild fig species (Ficus sp.) in the rainforest, Viti Levu Island, Fiji.

Jack Dykinga / Giant Fig Tree (Ficus sp) with buttress roots in tropical cloud-forest, El Cielo Biosphere Reserve, Tamaulipas, Mexico

Tim Laman / Endemic Fig tree (Ficus minahasa) with fruits growing beside a forest stream, Sierra Madre NP, Luzon, Philippines. Sept 2001.

Adrian Davies / Chinese Banyan tree (Ficus microcarpa) with aerial roots, Hong Kong, China

Adrian Davies / External roots of Chinese Banyan tree (Ficus microcarpa), Hong Kong, China

Jean E. Roche / Cultivated fig tree {Ficus carica} with developing fig, France

Jose B. Ruiz / Cultivated fig tree {Ficus carica} with developing fig, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica) with buttress roots, Plaza de Gabriel Miró, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica) in Parque de Canalejas, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Buttress roots of Rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica) in city square, Plaza de Gabriel Miró, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Buttress roots of Rubber fig tree (Ficus elastica) in city square, Plaza de Gabriel Miró, Alicante, Spain

Jose B. Ruiz / Fig tree (Ficus carica) growing out of rubble of disused mine building, Riotinto, Huelva, Spain

Nature Production / Grove of Indian banyan trees {Ficus benghalensis} India