unlikely epiphyte

Published by espringer, August 5th, 2014

Here's a 5" diameter black birch growing out of a head-height scar in a big old honey locust (at Taconic State Park, found on vacation). This kind of growth — an "epiphyte" — rarely grows so large outside of the rainforest! But this is a black birch, the clear master of growing out of unlikely nooks and crannies… Another part of the explanation is that Honey Locusts produce a significant amount of sap around an injury. Yet the host tree seems to be thriving nonetheless.