Anup Shah / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) juvenile male 'Mobangi' aged 5 years resting on a tree buttress, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Central African Republic. Nove...

Anup Shah / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) juvenile male 'Mobangi' aged 5 years sitting against a tree buttress, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Central African Republic....

Anup Shah / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) juvenile male 'Mobangi' aged 5 years resting on a tree buttress with younger gorilla nearby, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Ce...

Luis Quinta / Looking up root system and tree trunk in Amazon forest, Rio Negro, Brazil, December 2009.

Nick Garbutt / Buttress roots of Shorea sp. within lowland rainforest. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots (Ficus sp.)in rainforest, Cocaya River, eastern Amazon, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots, Mapari, Rupununi, Guyana

Tim Laman / A rainforest tree with large buttresses. Gunung Palung National Park, Borneo, Indonesia.

Alan Watson / Bamboo (Dendrocalamus sp) near buttress tree, in lowland tropical rainforest, Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Alan Watson / Buttress roots of (Tetrameles nudiflora) in tropical rainforest, Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

Alan Watson / Buttress roots of tree (Tetrameles nudiflora) in tropical rainforest, Khao Yai National Park, Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand

Theo Allofs / Buttress roots of giant trees in tropical rainforest, Tongkoko Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Pete Oxford / Buttress root in rainforest with photographer Pete Oxford standing beneath it, Sacha Lodge, Amazon Rain Forest, Ecuador

Jouan & Rius / Buttress roots of giant tree in rainforest, Tortuguero NP, Costa Rica

Jouan & Rius / Buttress roots of giant tree in rainforest, Tortuguero NP, Costa Rica

Nick Garbutt / Male Three-horned Rhinoceros beetle {Chalcosoma mollenkampi} on buttress root, lowland rain forest, Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.

Staffan Widstrand / Buttress roots details, Manaus, Brazil, South America

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

Pete Oxford / Tarantula (Theraphosidae) on buttress root of fig tree. Yasuni NP, Ecuador, Central America

Pete Oxford / Tarantula (Theraphosidae) on buttress root of fig tree (Ficus sp.). Yasuni NP, Ecuador, Central America

Pete Oxford / Tarantula (Theraphosidae) on buttress root of fig tree (Ficus sp.). Yasuni NP, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Tarantula on buttress root of Ficus (fig) species tree, Yasuni NP, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) standing on buttress root on the forest floor in the Amazon rainforest, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Ocelot (Leopardus pardalis) standing on buttress root on the forest floor in the Amazon rainforest, Ecuador

Colin Monteath / Climber hauls load above 4,200 meter camp on the west buttress route of Mt Denali or Mt McKinley which reaches 6,194 meters elevation, Denali National Park and Preserve, Alaska

Tui De Roy / Woka Palm (Livingstonia rotundifolia) and buttress in lowland rainforest understory, Tangkoko-Dua Saudara Nature Reserve, Sulawesi, Indonesia

Anup Shah / Male Chimpanzee sitting on tree buttress, Gombe NP Tanzania. Apollo

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots (size compared with man). Manu NP, Peru, South America

Doug Wechsler / Man by buttress root of Mora tree {Mora excelsa}, valuable timber tree. Guyana, South America

David Noton / Panoramic view of tree buttress roots in tropical rainforest, Daintree, Queensland, Australia

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

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

Staffan Widstrand / Tree buttress roots - special adaptation for shallow soils in tropical rainforest. Manu NP Peru.

Staffan Widstrand / River rushing through tropical rainforest, Mazaruni, Guyana, South America.

Anup Shah / Celebes / Black crested macaque (Macaca nigra) juvenile sitting on a tree buttress, Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Anup Shah / Celebes / Black crested macaque (Macaca nigra) mature male sitting on a tree buttress, Tangkoko National Park, Sulawesi, Indonesia.

Anup Shah / Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting on a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Anup Shah / Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting on a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Anup Shah / Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting on a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Anup Shah / Western chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting on a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Fiona Rogers / Western chimpazee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting against a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Fiona Rogers / Western chimpazee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years sitting against a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Fiona Rogers / Western chimpazee (Pan troglodytes verus) young male 'Peley' aged 12 years lying against a tree buttress, Bossou Forest, Mont Nimba, Guinea. December 2010.

Christophe Courteau / Wild chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes schweinfurthii) amongst buttress roots, viewed through dense foliage. Kibale National Park, Uganda

Anup Shah / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) juvenile male 'Mobangi' aged 5 years resting on a tree buttress, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Central African Republic. Nove...

Fiona Rogers / Western lowland gorilla (Gorilla gorilla gorilla) infant 'Sopo' aged 18 months sitting on a tree buttress, with mother nearby, Bai Hokou, Dzanga Sangha Special Dense Forest Reserve, Central African Re...

Martin Dohrn / La Selva forest, Costa Rica, South America,

Pete Oxford / Kapok (Ceiba sp) buttress roots and tourist, Yasuni National Park, Amazon Rainforest, Ecuador

Suzi Eszterhas / Chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes) male sitting on buttress of tree, western Uganda

Nick Garbutt / Flower of locally endemic Rafflesia (Rafflesia tengku-adlinii), flower diameter 22cm, blooming amongst the tangled giant buttress roots of (Shorea sp) on forest floor within lowland Dipterocarp rainfo...

Konrad Wothe / Buttress roots in rainforest, Daintree National Park, North Queensland, Australia

Kevin Schafer / Yellow Mombin (Spondias mombin) buttress root, Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic

Nick Garbutt / Tangled giant buttress roots of Shorea sp. within lowland rainforest. Centre of Maliau Basin, Sabah's 'Lost World', Borneo.

Nick Garbutt / Buttress roots of Shorea sp. within lowland rainforest. Danum Valley, Sabah, Borneo.

Piotr Naskrecki / Higher Termite (Cubitermes sp) mound against buttress root, Guinea

Christian Ziegler / Almendro (Dipteryx panamensis) buttress roots, Smithsonian Tropical Research Station, Barro Colorado Island, Panama

Christian Ziegler / Buttress roots of a large rainforest tree, Lambir Hills National Park, Sarawak, Malaysia

Pete Oxford / Cane Toad / Giant Marine Toad (Rhinella / Bufo marina) on buttress roots. Ecuador.

Kevin Schafer / Fig (Ficus sp) tree trunk with vine, Queensland, Australia

Jouan & Rius / Buttress roots on tree in dipterocarp forest, Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia

Jouan & Rius / Buttress roots on tree in dipterocarp forest, Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia

Jouan & Rius / Buttress roots on tree in dipterocarp forest, Borneo, Sarawak, Malaysia

Chien Lee / Buttress roots in lowland rainforest, Gunung Mulu National Park, Malaysia

Chien Lee / Buttress roots in lowland rainforest, Gunung Mulu National Park, Malaysia

Thomas Marent / Termite (Dicuspiditermes sp) mounds at base of tree, Gunung Leuser National Park, northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / Termite (Dicuspiditermes sp) mounds at base of tree, Gunung Leuser National Park, northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / Meranti (Dipterocarpaceae) trees in rainforest, Gunung Leuser National Park, northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / Meranti (Dipterocarpaceae) trees in rainforest, Gunung Leuser National Park, northern Sumatra, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / True Fig Shell (Ficus variegata) buttress roots, Tangkoko Nature Reserve, northern Sulawesi, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / True Fig Shell (Ficus variegata) with buttress roots, Tangkoko Nature Reserve, northern Sulawesi, Indonesia

Thomas Marent / Celebes Black Macaque (Macaca nigra) juvenile climbing on buttress roots, Tangkoko Nature Reserve, northern Sulawesi, Indonesia

Edwin Giesbers / Buttress roots of a tropical rainforest tree, Kubah National Park, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Edwin Giesbers / Three-horned Rhinoceros beetle (Chalcosoma mollenkampi) on buttress root, Kubah National park, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Edwin Giesbers / Asian forest scorpion (Heterometrus longimanus) on buttress roots in rainforest, Sarawak, Borneo, Malaysia

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots in rainforest, Cocaya River, eastern Amazon, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots in rainforest, Cocaya River, eastern Amazon, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots in rainforest, Cocaya River, eastern Amazon, Ecuador

Pete Oxford / Silk Cotton Tree (Ceiba pentandra) buttress root, Rewa River, Guyana

Pete Oxford / Buttress roots, Mapari, Rupununi, Guyana

Nick Garbutt / Aerial tree roots from within buttress. Lowland rainforest, Masoala National Park, Madagascar.

Neil Lucas / Buttress root, in tropical rainforest, Danham Valley, Borneo

Murray Cooper / Fig (Ficus sp) tree showing buttress roots, Ecuador

Murray Cooper / Cockspur Coral Tree (Erythrina crista-galli) with tourists, Ecuador

Murray Cooper / Cockspur Coral Tree (Erythrina crista-galli) with tourists, Ecuador

Alan Watson / Spine-covered buttress of a Ceiba / Kapok tree (Ceiba pentandra) in tropical rainforest growing over limestone, near Los Haitises National Park, Dominican Republic, Caribbean

Adrian Davies / Bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) buttress root submerged, Corkscrew Swamp, Florida, USA

Adrian Davies / Bald Cypress tree swamp (Taxodium distichum) Florida, USA.

Adrian Davies / Bald Cypress tree swamp (Taxodium distichum) Florida, USA.

Murray Cooper / Fig (Ficus sp) tree with huge buttress roots, Amazon, Ecuador

Murray Cooper / Fig (Ficus sp) tree with huge buttress roots, Amazon, Ecuador

Konrad Wothe / Buttress roots and lianas in the rainforest at Tambopata River, Peru

Alan Watson / Greater spiny lizard / Armoured pricklenape (Acanthosaura armata) on tree buttress, lowland tropical rainforest, Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

Alan Watson / Greater spiny lizard / Armoured pricklenape (Acanthosaura armata) on buttress roots, lowland tropical rainforest, Khao Sok National Park, Surat Thani Province, Thailand

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