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Epiphyte

An epiphyte is a plant or plant-like organism that grows on the surface of another plant or plant-like organism such as kelp. It derives its moisture and nutrients from the air, rain, water or from debris accumulating around it. The plants on which epiphytes grow are called phorophytes. Epiphytes take part in nutrient cycles and add to both the diversity and biomass of the ecosystem in which they occur, like any other organism. In some cases, a rainforest tree's epiphytes may weigh several tonnes. Epiphytes differ from parasitic plants in that they grow on the host for physical support only, and do not draw nourishment from it. An organism that grows on another organism that is not a plant may be called an epibiont. Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone or in the tropics. Epiphyte species make good houseplants due to their minimal water and soil requirements. Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.

Terrestrial epiphytes
About one-third of all fern species are epiphytes. The third largest group is clubmosses, with 190 species, followed by a handful of species in each of the spikemosses, other ferns, Gnetales, and cycads. Within the Neotropics, there are estimated to be total of 15,500 species of epiphytic vascular plants. A monograph on epiphytic plant ecology was written by A. F. W. Schimper (, 1888). Assemblages of large epiphytes occur most abundantly in moist tropical forests, but mosses and lichens occur as epiphytes in almost all biomes. In Europe there are no dedicated epiphytic plants using roots, but rich assemblages of mosses and lichens grow on trees in damp areas (mainly the western coastal fringe), and the common polypody fern grows epiphytically along branches. Rarely, grass, small bushes or small trees may grow in suspended soils up trees (typically in a rot-hole). Holo-epiphyte or hemi-epiphyte Epiphytes can generally be categorized into holo-epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes. A holo-epiphyte is a plant that spends its whole life cycle without contact with the ground and a hemi-epiphyte is a plant that spends only half of its life without the ground before the roots can reach or make contact with the ground. Orchids are a common example of holo-epiphytes and strangler figs are an example of hemi-epiphytes. Plant nutrient relations Epiphytes are not connected to the soil, and consequently must get nutrients from other sources, such as fog, dew, rain and mist, or from nutrients being released from the ground rooted plants by decomposition or leaching, and dinitrogen fixation. Epiphytes can have a significant effect on the microenvironment of their host, and of ecosystems where they are abundant, as they hold water in the canopy and decrease water input to the soil. Some non-vascular epiphytes such as lichens and mosses are well known for their ability to take up water rapidly. Epiphytes create a significantly cooler and more moist environment in the host plant canopy, potentially greatly reducing water loss by the host through transpiration. Plant metabolism CAM metabolism, a water-preserving metabolism present among various plant taxa, is particularly relevant to epiphytic communities. For example, it is estimated that among epiphytic orchids, as many as 50% are likely to use it. Other relevant epiphytic families which display such metabolism are Bromeliacee (e.g. in genera Aechmea and Tillandsia), Cactaceae (e.g. in Rhipsalis and Epiphyllum) and Apocynaceae (e.g. in Hoya and Dischidia). ==Marine epiphytes==
Marine epiphytes
The ecology of epiphytes in marine environments differs from those in terrestrial ecosystems. Epiphytes in marine systems are species of algae, bacteria, fungi, sponges, bryozoans, ascidians, protozoa, crustaceans, molluscs and any other sessile organism that grows on the surface of a plant, typically seagrasses or algae. Settlement of epiphytic species is influenced by a number of factors including light, temperature, currents, nutrients, and trophic interactions. Algae are the most common group of epiphytes in marine systems. This is typically between 20 and 60% of the total primary production of the ecosystem. ==See also==
Source: Wikipedia ↗
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