For the past 3 years, I've watched this strange phenomenon happening on my daily commute. A Florida Strangler Fig tree is slowly taking over a wooden utility pole (Lake Worth, FL). Strangler Figs start as epiphytes (air-born plants), usually on a host tree. They drop aerial roots to the ground which thicken and develop into a trunk. This eventually surrounds and kills the host tree. Here a Strangler Fig started growing about 12 feet up a utility pole and has gotten big enough to split and warp the wood. About six months ago the utility company placed a second pole next to the original and transferred most of the lines. They left the old pole (they cut off the top) with the Strangler Fig.