Epiphytic plants: what are they, types and examples

The word epiphyte comes from the Greek ‘epi’ (on) and ‘phyton’ (plant), that is, it refers to a plant that grows on another plant using it as a support. For this reason, it sometimes seems that epiphytes are plants that live in the air , when in fact they are growing on a support.

Epiphytic plants do not have any physiological relationship with the trees on which they develop, but their roots only serve to hold onto branches and trunks . It is said, then, that the relationship of the epiphyte plant with its support is one of commensalism (benefit for the epiphyte, while the tree or support plant neither benefits nor harms). However, recent studies have shown that epiphytes can cause damage to the host on certain occasions, such as avoiding photosynthesis, suffocating it or causing its branches to break due to weight.

The support tree is a good habitat for epiphytes, because it is exposed to significant variations in humidity and temperature due to direct exposure to the sun and wind. For this reason, epiphytic plants have developed certain physiological and morphological characteristics that allow them to avoid or reduce water loss (thanks to thick cuticles) and to obtain nutrients from the air and those released by leaf litter and tree debris. .

Parasitic plants, like epiphytes, develop on a plant, but unlike epiphytes, parasites feed on the nutritive substances of the host plant, causing it serious damage. Currently, approximately 4,000 species of parasitic plants are known and have a modified root, called haustorium, which penetrates the xylem or phloem of the host.

Therefore, the difference is that epiphytic plants do not cause damage to the host , whereas parasites do .

Learn more about Parasitic Plants: characteristics, types and examples with this other AgroCorrn post.

Both epiphytic and climbing plants use a host, however the difference between both is that, on the one hand, epiphytic plants have an aerial way of living , while, on the other hand, climbing plants have their origin on the ground and when begin to grow they are located in a tree to absorb sunlight and stay away from predators and excessive soil moisture.

Here we show you more about the Names of flowering climbing plants , so that you know several species.

It is estimated that there are currently around 25,000 species of plants with this way of life. The epiphytic life form appeared several times throughout evolution and is found both in tropical spermatophytes (plants with trunk and seed) such as Ericaceas, Moraceae, Piperaceae, Melastomataceae or Gesneraceae and seedless plants of temperate climates, such as lichens, mosses. and liverworts. However, the best known and most common epiphytic plants are:

Orchids

The orchid family is the most numerous in terms of number of epiphytic species, with more than 20 genera of tropical epiphytic plants. The different species of orchids stand out for their beauty and for their great diversity of floral shapes. This fact, together with their few nutrient and water requirements, make them one of the most cultivated gardening plants in the world. In addition, they stand out for their complex pollination systems. Some epiphytic species of this family are:

• BulbophyUum minute
• Bulbophyllum phalaenopsis
• Vanilla planifolia
• Trichocentrum stick
• Cattleya issue
• Phalaenopsis amabilis

Here we discover how to grow orchids in trees .

Bromeliads

Bromeliads include more than 3,000 tropical species, most of them epiphytes and some of the best known are air carnations. Its leaves develop in a rosette and in an imbricate manner, which facilitates the accumulation of water. Bromeliads have secondary compounds that prevent the proliferation of the Aedes aegypti mosquito , which is an important transmitter of viruses such as zyka or dengue, and the water they accumulate in their leaves creates a microhabitat with nutrients on which insects, amphibians and native birds. Some epiphytic species are:

• Tillandsia usneoides
• Tillandsia abdita
• Tillandsia acuminata
• Tillandsia multicaulis
• Aechmea abbreviated
• Aechmea allenii
• Aechmea aquilega

Ferns

Ferns are vascular seedless plants with large, usually pinnate leaves and circinate prefoliation. They are plants highly dependent on humidity, which is why a great variety grows in tropical climates, many of which are epiphytes. Some species of epiphytic ferns are:

• Platycerium bifurcatum
• Trichomanes galeoti
• Phlebodium pseudoaureum
• Elaphoglossum vestitum

Mosses

Some epiphytic mosses can be found on twisted trunks, especially on oak bark. Mosses are undemanding plants and are part of the colonizing vegetation, fulfilling important functions such as protecting the soil from cooling, preserving and increasing its porosity and permeability, and helping to enrich the topsoil. Some epiphytic mosses are:

• Syntrichia amphidiacea
• Leskea base
• Syntrichia fragilis
• Syntrichia villages
• Fabronia ciliaris

Lichens

Lichens are symbiotic associations between an alga and a fungus , where the fungus provides protection and the alga provides photosynthesis. Lichens usually grow as epiphytic plants on the bark of many trees. The following species stand out:

• Usnea articulata
• Aextoxicon speckled
• Peumus boldus
• Aristotelia chilensis

In the image below you can see mosses and ferns, which are epiphytic plants, living in a tree.

Epiphytic plants accumulate large amounts of dust, soil or water between their roots, forming on the base of the carrier plant a layer of biomass that the epiphyte can use as food. At the same time, some carrier species develop special roots with which they manage to use part of this biomass as a food supplement. So it can also be said that the carrier plant can obtain certain kinds of benefits.

From the point of view of the benefits for the organisms involved, this relationship can be considered as a type of commensalism-type symbiosis . However, it is not a symbiosis in the strict sense, since there is no close relationship between the two organisms, as occurs for example in a lichen.

Learn more about What is symbiosis with examples , in this other article.

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