Near Orosí, Costa Rica

Epiphytes on a tree near Santa Elena in Costa Rica

An example of an epiphyte assemblage of orchids and bromeliads in a garden setting in Hawaii

An epiphyte is an organism that grows upon or attached to a living plant. Orosi is a town in the Cartago Province in Costa Rica, about 30 kilometers south of the capital San José. Monteverde Costa Rica ( Spanish for 'green mountain' is a small town near Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Costa Rica, officially the Republic of Costa Rica ( Spanish: Costa Rica or República de Costa Rica,) is a Country in The State of Hawaii ( or həˈwaɪʔiː Hawaiian: Mokuāina o Hawaii) is a state in the United States located on an Archipelago in the The term most commonly refers to higher plants, but epiphytic bacteria, fungi (epiphytic fungi), algae, lichens, mosses, and ferns exist as well. Plants are living Organisms belonging to the kingdom Plantae. The Bacteria ( singular: bacterium) are a large group of unicellular Microorganisms Typically a few Micrometres in length bacteria have A fungus (ˈfʌŋgəs is a eukaryotic Organism that is a member of the kingdom Fungi (ˈfʌndʒaɪ An epiphytic fungus is a Fungus that grows upon or attached to a living Plant. Algae ( sing. alga are a large and diverse group of simple typically Autotrophic organisms ranging from Unicellular to Multicellular forms Lichens (ˈlaɪkən or /lɪtʃən/ are symbiotic associations of a Fungus (the mycobiont with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont also known as Mosses are small soft Plants that are typically 1–10  cm (0 A fern is any one of a group of about 20000 Species of Plants classified in the phylum or division Pteridophyta, also known as Filicophyta The term epiphytic derives from the Greek epi- (meaning 'upon') and phyton (meaning 'plant'). Epiphytic plants are sometimes called "air plants" because they do not root in soil. However, there are many aquatic species of algae, including seaweeds, that are epiphytes on other aquatic plants (seaweeds or aquatic angiosperms). Seaweed is a loose colloquial term encompassing macroscopic Multicellular, benthic marine Algae. The flowering plants or angiosperms ( Angiospermae or Magnoliophyta) are the most widespread group

Epiphytic organisms usually derive only physical support and not nutrition from their host, though they may sometimes damage the host. Parasitic and semiparasitic plants growing on other plants (mistletoe is well known) are not "true" epiphytes (a designation usually given to fully autotrophic epiphytes), but are still epiphytic in habit. A parasitic plant is one that derives some or all of its sustenance from another plant Mistletoe is the common name for a group of hemi-parasitic Plants in the order Santalales that grow attached to and within the An autotroph (from the Greek autos = self and trophe = nutrition is an Organism that produces complex Organic compounds from simple

Epiphytic plants use photosynthesis for energy and (where non-aquatic) obtain moisture from the air or from dampness (rain and cloud moisture) on the surface of their hosts. Photosynthesis is a Metabolic pathway that converts Light Energy into Chemical energy. Rain is Liquid precipitation. On Earth it is the condensation of atmospheric Water vapor into drops heavy enough to fall often making it to Roots may develop primarily for attachment, and specialized structures (for example, cups and scales) may be used to collect or hold moisture. ROOT is an object-oriented program and library developed by CERN.

Epiphytic plants attached to their hosts high in the canopy have an advantage over herbs restricted to the ground where there is less light and herbivores may be more active. The canopy is one of the uppermost levels of a Forest, below the emergent layer, formed by the Tree crowns Canopy trees refers to the trees

Epiphytic plants are also important to certain animals that may live in their water reservoirs, such as some types of frogs and arthropods. This article is about the block cipher algorithm For the ultrafast laser pulse measurement technique see Frequency-resolved optical gating. Arthropods are Animals belonging to the Phylum Arthropoda (from Greek ἄρθρον arthron, " Joint " The best-known epiphytic plants include mosses, orchids, and bromeliads such as Spanish moss (of the genus Tillandsia), but epiphytic plants may be found in every major group of the plant kingdom. Mosses are small soft Plants that are typically 1–10  cm (0 Spanish moss ( Tillandsia usneoides) closely resembles its namesake ( Usnea, or beard lichen The Plant genus Tillandsia, a member of the Bromeliad family (Bromeliaceae is found in the Deserts Forests and Mountains Assemblages of large epiphytes occur most abundantly in moist tropical forests, but mosses and lichens occur as epiphytes in almost any environment with trees. Tropical rainforests are generally found near the Equator. They are common in Asia, Australia, Africa, South America, Central

Some epiphytic plants are large trees that begin their lives high in the forest canopy. Over decades they send roots down the trunk of a host tree eventually overpowering and replacing it. The strangler fig and the northern rātā (Metrosideros spp. Northern rātā ( Metrosideros robusta) is a huge forest tree endemic to New Zealand. ) of New Zealand are examples of this. New Zealand is an Island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses (the North Island and the South Island Epiphytes that end up as free standing trees are also called hemiphytes.

In Europe there are no dedicated epiphytic plants using roots, although grass, small bushes or small trees may grow on the branches of other plants.

The first important monograph on epiphytic plant ecology was written by A.F.W. Schimper (Die Epiphytische Vegetation Amerikas, 1888). Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper ( May 12, 1856 &ndash September 9, 1901) was a botanist and phytogeographer who made major Year 1888 ( MDCCCLXXXVIII) was a Leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a

Epiphyte is one of the subdivisions of the Raunkiær system. The Raunkiær system is a system for categorising plants using life-form categories devised by Christen C

Popular culture

The fictitious companies Epiphyte(1) and Epiphyte(2) feature prominently in Neal Stephenson's novel Cryptonomicon. Neal Town Stephenson (born October 31, 1959) is an American writer known primarily for his Science fiction works in the Postcyberpunk genre Cryptonomicon is a 1999 novel by Neal Stephenson. It concurrently follows the exploits of World War II -era Cryptographers affiliated with Terry Pratchett's Bromeliad trilogy uses the phenomenon of tiny frogs that live their entire lives in bromeliads as a leitmotif. Terence David John Pratchett, OBE (born 28 April 1948 is an English fantasy, Science fiction, and children's author. For the family of flowering plants see Bromeliaceae. The Bromeliad Trilogy (also known in the UK as The Nome Trilogy A leitmotif (ˌlaɪtmoʊˈtiːf (also leitmotiv; lit "leading motif" is a recurring Musical theme, associated with a particular person place Author/Artist S. A. Jones has created a series of children's books and comics about characters called Eppies. They are based on epiphytes and other elements of science.

See also

• Epiphyllum - Orchid cacti
• Resurrection fern - An epiphytal fern of the Southeastern United States
• Parasitic plant

External links

• BBC: Caring for an air plant
• Lankester Botanical Garden