Aerial root

They are found in diverse plant species, including epiphytes such as orchids (Orchidaceae), tropical coastal swamp trees such as mangroves, banyan figs (Ficus subg.

Another strangler that begins life as an epiphyte is the Moreton Bay fig (Ficus macrophylla) of tropical and subtropical eastern Australia, which has powerfully descending aerial roots.

In the subtropical to warm-temperate rainforests of northern New Zealand, Metrosideros robusta, the rata tree, sends aerial roots down several sides of the trunk of the host.

In some cases, the "strangler" outlives the host tree, leaving as its only trace a hollow core in the massive pseudotrunk of the rata.

The surface of these roots is covered with porous lenticels, which lead to air-filled spongy tissue called aerenchyma.

Fishers in some areas of Southeast Asia make corks for fishing nets by shaping the pneumatophores of mangrove apples (Sonneratia caseolaris) into small floats.

[3] Members of the subfamily Taxodioideae produce woody above-ground structures, known as cypress knees, that project upward from their horizontal roots.

Their true functions remain unclear, with alternative theories proposing roles such as nutrient acquisition or storage, structural support, or erosion prevention.

Adventitious roots usually develop from plantlet nodes formed via horizontal, above ground stems, termed stolons, e.g., strawberry runners, and spider plant.