Pitch-apple

Here is a tree that is remarkable for its epiphytic habits, a Clusia rosea, taxonomically related - if you can believe it - to our St. Johnswort!

Perhaps one of its seeds was carried by birds to a tree branch. Before long a parasitic life appeared. Soon there was a little Clusia straddling the branch. It quickly grew aerial roots that hung down like cables and ended up reaching the ground and nutrients. The roots grew thicker and, within a few months, a few years, swallowed up the host tree. Note that Clusia rosea is not strictly epiphytic, and is often found living an independent life.