Epiphyte
/EP-ih-fyte/🦋 Ecology●● Intermediate
Also known as: air plant, tree-dwelling plant
A plant that grows upon another plant (usually a tree) or object for physical support, obtaining moisture and nutrients from rain, air, and debris that accumulates around it — not from its host. Epiphytes are abundant in tropical forests and include orchids, bromeliads, ferns, and mosses. They are not parasites; they use their host only as a platform to access light. Some epiphytes become very large and may eventually damage their host through sheer weight.
Etymology
Greek epi (upon) + phyton (plant)
Example
“Many tropical orchids are epiphytes, growing in the crooks of tree branches where debris collects to form a small soil pocket.”