Editing Epiphyte (section)

==Terrestrial epiphytes==
The best-known epiphytic plants include [[moss]]es, [[orchid]]s, and [[bromeliad]]s such as [[Spanish moss]] (of the genus ''[[Tillandsia]]''), but epiphytes may be found in every major group of the plant kingdom. Eighty-nine percent of (or about 24,000) terrestrial epiphyte species are [[flowering plant]]s. The second largest group are the [[leptosporangiate fern]]s, with about 2,800 species (10% of epiphytes). About one-third of all fern species are epiphytes.<ref>Hogan, C Michael, 2010. [http://www.eoearth.org/article/Fern ''Fern''. Encyclopedia of Earth. National council for Science and the Environment] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111109071540/http://www.eoearth.org/article/Fern |date=November 9, 2011 }}. Washington, DC</ref> The third largest group is [[clubmoss]]es, with 190 species, followed by a handful of species in each of the [[spikemoss]]es, other ferns, [[Gnetophyta|Gnetales]], and [[cycad]]s.<ref>{{citation | url = http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/181/1/D_Schuettpelz_Eric_a_052007.pdf | title = The evolution and diversification of epiphytic ferns | author = Schuettpelz, Eric | year = 2007 | publisher = Duke University PhD thesis | access-date = 2009-12-11 | archive-date = 2010-06-20 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20100620022844/http://dukespace.lib.duke.edu/dspace/bitstream/10161/181/1/D_Schuettpelz_Eric_a_052007.pdf | url-status = dead }}</ref>

The first important monograph on epiphytic [[plant ecology]] was written by [[Andreas Franz Wilhelm Schimper|A. F. W. Schimper]] ({{lang|de|Die epiphytische Vegetation Amerikas}}, 1888). Assemblages of large epiphytes occur most abundantly in moist [[Tropical rainforest|tropical forests]], but mosses and lichens occur as epiphytes in almost all biomes. In Europe there are no dedicated epiphytic plants using roots, but rich assemblages of mosses and lichens grow on trees in damp areas (mainly the western coastal fringe), and the common [[Polypodium|polypody fern]] grows epiphytically along branches. Rarely, grass, small bushes or small trees may grow in [[Canopy soils|suspended soils]] up trees (typically in a rot-hole).

{{Gallery
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|File:Epiphytes (Dominica).jpg
 |{{center|Epiphytes can grow on the trunks of trees or sometimes in the canopy of a tree}}
|File:Epiphytic orchid.jpg
 |{{center|An epiphytic orchid on a tree in a Brazilian cloud forest}}
|File:Clinging root of epiphyte.jpg
 |{{center|Clinging root of an [[orchid]]}}
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=== Holo-epiphyte or hemi-epiphyte ===
{{main|Hemiepiphyte}}
Epiphytes however, can generally be categorized into holo-epiphytes or hemi-epiphytes. A holo-epiphyte is a plant that spends its whole life cycle without contact with the ground and a hemi-epiphyte is a plant that spends only half of its life without the ground before the roots can reach or make contact with the ground.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Nieder|first1=Jürgen|last2=Prosper´ı|first2=Juliana|date=2001|title=Epiphytes and their contribution to canopy diversity|url=https://journals.ohiolink.edu/pg_99?106706970338822::NO::P99_ENTITY_ID,P99_ENTITY_TYPE:27304615,MAIN_FILE&cs=3qQvpBlUcKYGOcd_hN-qdwSXVcYkST9-7VRlGkwQDz68JuTJ_hoy9DUjfU-zwDhoDlbkjhZpoG7YFvPkDAHZkhw|journal=Plant Ecology|volume=153|issue=1–2 |pages=51–63|doi=10.1023/A:1017517119305|bibcode=2001PlEco.153...51N |s2cid=37082364}}{{Dead link|date=January 2022 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> [[Orchidaceae|Orchids]] are a common example of holo-epiphytes and [[Strangler fig|Strangler Figs]] are an example of hemi-epiphytes.

=== Plant nutrient relations ===
Epiphytes are not connected to the soil, and consequently must get nutrients from other sources, such as fog, dew, rain and mist,<ref name="Zotz-2001">{{Cite journal|last1=Zotz|first1=Gerhard|last2=Hietz|first2=Peter|s2cid=22635086|date=November 2001|title=The physiological ecology of vascular epiphytes: current knowledge, open questions|journal=Journal of Experimental Botany|volume=52|issue=364|pages=2067–2078|doi=10.1093/jexbot/52.364.2067|pmid=11604445|doi-access=free}}</ref> or from nutrients being released from the ground rooted plants by decomposition or leaching, and dinitrogen fixation.<ref name="Zotz-2001" /> Epiphytic plants attached to their hosts high in the [[Canopy (forest)|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 [[frog]]s and [[arthropod]]s.

Epiphytes can have a significant effect on the microenvironment of their host, and of ecosystems where they are abundant, as they hold water in the canopy and decrease water input to the soil.<ref>{{cite journal | last1 = Stanton | first1 = D.E. | last2 = Chávez | first2 = J.H. | last3 = Villegas | first3 = L. | last4 = Villasante | first4 = F. | last5 = Armesto | first5 = J. | last6 = Hedin | first6 = L.O. | last7 = Horn | first7 = H. | year = 2014| title = Epiphytes Improve Host Plant Water Use by Microenvironment Modification | journal = [[Functional Ecology (journal)|Functional Ecology]] | volume =  28| issue = 5| pages =  1274–1283| doi = 10.1111/1365-2435.12249 | doi-access = free | bibcode = 2014FuEco..28.1274S }}</ref> Some non-vascular epiphytes such as lichens and mosses are well known for their ability to take up water rapidly.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Johansson|first=Dick|date=1974|title=ECOLOGY OF VASCULAR EPIPHYTES IN WEST AFRICAN RAIN FOREST|url=http://www.diva-portal.org/smash/get/diva2:565496/FULLTEXT01.pdf|journal=Acta Phytogeographica Suecica|volume=59}}</ref> Epiphytes create a significantly cooler and more moist environment in the host plant canopy, potentially greatly reducing water loss by the host through transpiration.

=== Plant metabolism ===
[[Crassulacean acid metabolism|CAM metabolism]], a water-preserving metabolism present among various [[Plant taxonomy|plant taxa]], is particularly relevant to epiphytic communities.<ref>{{Cite journal |last1=Zotz |first1=Gerhard |last2=Andrade |first2=José Luis |last3=Einzmann |first3=Helena J R |date=2023-01-07 |title=CAM plants: their importance in epiphyte communities and prospects with global change |journal=Annals of Botany |volume=132 |issue=4 |pages=685–698 |doi=10.1093/aob/mcac158 |issn=0305-7364|doi-access=free |pmid=36617243 |pmc=10799991 }}</ref> For example, it is estimated that among epiphytic orchids, as many as 50% are likely to use it.<ref>{{Cite journal |date=1996 |editor-last=Winter |editor-first=Klaus |editor2-last=Smith |editor2-first=J. Andrew C. |title=Crassulacean Acid Metabolism |url=https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-79060-7 |journal=Ecological Studies |volume=114 |language=en |doi=10.1007/978-3-642-79060-7 |isbn=978-3-642-79062-1 |issn=0070-8356}}</ref> Other relevant epiphytic families which display such metabolism are [[Bromeliaceae|Bromeliacee]] (e.g. in genera ''[[Aechmea]]'' and ''Tillandsia''), [[Cactus|Cactaceae]] (e.g. in ''[[Rhipsalis]]'' and ''[[Epiphyllum]]'') and [[Apocynaceae]] (e.g. in ''[[Hoya (plant)|Hoya]]'' and  ''[[Dischidia]]'').