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The
little plants which live on leaves are called epiphylls.
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`Epi'
means 'upon and 'phyll' means `leaf'.
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Epiphyte
is the more familiar name used for a number of ferns, orchids and so on.
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It
means `upon-plants'.
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Epiphylls
include a variety of non-flowering plants including:
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Lichens
(the main group), mosses, leafy liverworts and algae.
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Twenty
species, or more, may be found on a single leaf.
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They flourish best where light levels are low, on leaves in
the understorey.
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Almost
every understorey leaf supports at least a few of these plants.
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Among
them lives an entire microscopic fauna population of:
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Mites,
worms and insect larvae as well as bacteria and a number of fungi species.
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The variety of microscopic epiphylls make a very valuable
contribution to this.
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The bacteria which live on leaves play an important part in
the rainforest ecosystem by:
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Using nitrogen from the atmosphere and recycling nutrients.
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Epiphylls can be quite a burden for a plant.
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A heavy population of them on a leaf significantly reduces
its ability to photosynthesise.
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To discourage this many rainforest leaves are shiny and their
shape.
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They are designed to encourage water to run off quickly.
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This is to reduce the ability of epiphylls colonising them.
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Loss of habitat has left them vulnerable.
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Recent research suggests that some may function as good
indicators of forest stress.
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'Epiphylls are an important part of the whole
rainforest ecosystem.'
