Story of Liana

Lianas are woody climbers. They are often known as the 'highway' of the forest. The leaves of the liana are found near the top of the canopy to absorb as much sunlight as possible for photosynthesis. The liana then spreads along a few trees as it grows. This forms the 'highway' at the canopy of the forest, thus the animals like squirrels do not need to climb up and down the trees to get from one tree top to another. If one of the trees twined by the liana is to fall in the forest, it will bring down the other trees too. This allows the pioneer species to grow when there is a sudden gap in the canopy.

Story of Fig Tree and Fig Wasp

This is a White leaf fig (Ficus grossularioides).

Although fig trees are called 无花果 in chinese, (literally means no flower fruit), they do have flowers that are enclosed in the fig.

All figs have 4 prominent features.
1. Sap.
2. Prominent bud.
3. Triangular vein on the underside of the leaf.
4. Scars on the stem of the plant.

Fig trees have a symbiotic relationship with the fig wasps. Fig wasps are the only pollinators of the fig trees. The female fig wasp will drill its way through the fig, passing through the mouth of the fig which is covered with male flowers. Then, she will deposit her eggs in the cavity which is covered with female flowers. While depositing her eggs, she will also deposit some of the pollen that she was carrying. This helps to fertilize the flowers in the figs. However, as the hole is very small, the female wasp will usually lose its wings and die inside the fig after laying her eggs.

As the fig develops, the wasp eggs hatch and develop into larvae. After going through the pupal stage, the mature male will mate with a female, then it will dig its way out of the fig, creating a tunnel for the females to go through. The males usually sacrifice themselves and distract the preys around the figs to ensure that the females can continue the life cycle successfully.

Story of Macaranga

Haven't blog for a long time! Since exams are over and I promised someone that i'll blog, so here I am. Haha. I've been tasked to tell the 'story' of Macaranga... so here it is!

The Macaranga is also known as the Common Mahang, which has a symbiotic relationship with the ants. The ants will protect the plant by gnawing off any climbers that tries to climb onto the plant.

In return, the plant has stipules (black ring) that supplies the ants with food (lipids). It has hollow stems which serves as nesting place for ants, and also allow the ants to move freely inside the plant, and small holes on the stems to allow ants to move in and out of the plant.