Epiphytes – whether plants or lichens – are not parasites; generally they pose no threat to their host’s well-being or survival.
Typically, epiphytes thrive in wet/humid places; they attach to the surfaces of trunks & branches, but only rely on them for support & “positioning”.
An epiphyte’s food & water needs are supplied by rainfall, condensation, falling debris & – in some cases – excretions from the small fauna that live in the epiphyte’s own little “ponds”.
Colombia is definitely a “hotspot” for epiphytes.
I took today’s photo about two hours after #19’s in this series, on a lower section of the same ridgeline.
Click here to discover more about epiphytes.
Eventually, multi-image posts will show & tell a deal 6more about the Sierra Nevada de Santa Marta.
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