Epiphyte

Epiphytes differ from parasites in that they grow on other plants for physical support and do not necessarily affect the host negatively.

[2] Epiphytes are usually found in the temperate zone (e.g., many mosses, liverworts, lichens, and algae) or in the tropics (e.g., many ferns, cacti, orchids, and bromeliads).

[4] Epiphytes provide a rich and diverse habitat for other organisms including animals, fungi, bacteria, and myxomycetes.

[7] The first important monograph on epiphytic plant ecology was written by A. F. W. Schimper (Die epiphytische Vegetation Amerikas, 1888).

[9] Epiphytic plants attached to their hosts high in the canopy have an advantage over herbs restricted to the ground where there is less light and herbivores may be more active.

Epiphytic plants are also important to certain animals that may live in their water reservoirs, such as some types of frogs and arthropods.

[13] 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).

[14][15] Settlement of epiphytic species is influenced by a number of factors including light, temperature, currents, nutrients, and trophic interactions.

Recent increases in epiphyte abundance have been linked to excessive nitrogen put into the environment from farm runoff and storm water.

High abundance of epiphytes are considered detrimental to the plants that they grow on often causing damage or death, particularly in seagrasses.