MY TREE 



47 



Now I began to notice especially the lianas. 

 Some of these were the spongy roots of plants 

 perched high on the big trees. Others are like 

 our wild grapevine. They climb to the jungle 

 roof and leaf out there, tying the branches to- 

 gether and helping to make the dense jungle 

 shade. 



One of the most interesting vines is the wild 

 fig, which starts from a tiny seed dropped by some 



Fig. 23. Wild fig fallen after its inner support has rotted away 



bird in the branches of a j tingle tree. This 

 sprouts into a Httle plant which drops a root as 

 fine as thread down to the ground. The rootlet 

 thickens into a trunk that sends out from its 



