A plant that obtains its nutrients from the air and the rain and usually grows on another plant for support.
Example:
The strangler fig begins life as an epiphyte on a tree branch, drops its tendrils to take root in the ground around the trunk, and slowly covers and strangles the tree to death.
Epiphytic plants are sometimes also known as "air plants" because they seemingly survive on thin air. They rely on their host plants merely for physical support, not nourishment. Tropical epiphytes include orchids, ferns, and members of the pineapple family. To a newcomer in the tropical rainforest, the sight of a great tree with large epiphytes hanging from every level can be eerie and astonishing. The less interesting epiphytes of the temperate zone include lichens, mosses, and algae.