Epiphytes: Plants That Use Other Plants to Survive

In temperate rainforests, common epiphytes are mosses and ferns, while in tropical rainforests orchids and bromeliads are the most common epiphytes. More than 20,000 different types of orchids exist in the rainforest.

Epiphytes sprout from spores or seeds transported by birds or wind. They are sometimes called air plants because they obtain moisture and nutrients from the air and rain. These air plants are able to go through the process of photosynthesis and create energy for themselves. Trees or other plants are used merely as support structures while air plants process nutrients they have collected themselves.

Types of Epiphyte Plants

• Orchids are the most common epiphyte plant. With thousands of species of orchid plants, a single tree may have as many as 300 different species living on it. Orchids absorb water and nutrients through their exposed roots that also help anchor the epiphyte to its host tree.
• Moss Plants are small green plants growing in dense clusters in damp, shady places. Often resembling a green carpet, moss grows on fallen logs and at the bases of trees or in shady areas. While most mosses grow on land, a few live in fresh water. Mosses generally absorb water and nutrients through their cup-like leaves. Certain moss varieties, like Spanish moss, are considered members of the bromeliad family because they produce flowers.
• Bromeliads are members of a large family of flowering plants that are native to the tropics and rainforest. The family includes such plants as Spanish moss and ground plants like the pineapple. Many bromeliads can store water in the bases of their leaves for extended periods of time.