Milky sap can cause skin irritation in sensitive individuals. Fruit is edible for wildlife but not particularly palatable for humans. Wash hands after handling cut stems.
Nature's most dramatic story. A strangler fig begins life as a seed dropped by a bird in the canopy of another tree. It sends roots down to the ground, then slowly envelops its host tree over decades. The host eventually dies and decomposes, leaving the fig standing as a hollow, cathedral-like tower of intertwined roots. It's both beautiful and unsettling.
— field notes, Miami Beach
Miami Beach Botanical Garden (several specimens). Scattered in older parts of Miami Beach where they've had decades to grow. More common on the mainland — Fairchild Tropical Botanic Garden has spectacular examples.
Strangler figs are 'keystone species' — a disproportionate number of animals depend on them. The figs produce fruit year-round (when most trees have one season), making them critical food during lean months. A single large fig can feed parrots, toucans, bats, monkeys, and dozens of other species.
The relationship between figs and fig wasps is one of the oldest partnerships in nature — it's at least 80 million years old. Each fig species has its own species of tiny wasp that pollinates it. Without the wasp, no figs. Without the figs, no wasp. They evolved together since the age of dinosaurs.
Tell the strangler fig life cycle as a dramatic story while standing at the tree. Kids physically act out each stage. One of the most memorable nature lessons you'll ever teach.
A strangler fig tree (or photos/illustrations if not available)
The aerial roots of a strangler fig have incredible textures — smooth sections, rough bark, fused joints. Trace them with your fingers or make rubbings of the patterns.
Paper and crayons for rubbings (optional — hands-only works great too)