Fig Trees in the Rain Forest

One thousand types of fig trees exist, including the common edible fig, according to Blue Planet Biomes. The Ficus benjamina, a common houseplant, is in the same family. The strangler fig actually kills other trees.

Ficus Carica

• This species of fig tree produces the common edible fig. It grows in many ecosystems, including the world's many rain forests. It is native to Western Asia and has been introduced to gardens in temperate and tropical areas. The fruit provides food to a wide range of wildlife in rain forests and other areas where it grows.

Ficus Benjamina

• This species, also called the weeping fig, is native to India, southern China and other Asian countries such as Malaysia. It can grow as tall as 100 feet. It does not produce fruit when it is grown as a houseplant, but its small red fruit provides food for wildlife such as fruit doves in its rain forest habitat.

Strangler Fig

• This fig tree, also known as a banyan or Ficus aurea, is native to southern Florida and the West Indies. It grows from 50 to 150 feet in rain forest ecosystems. It begins life as an epiphyte in other trees and then grows aggressively. When its roots reach the ground below, the strangler fig becomes a fierce competitor for water and nutrients, its leaves shade the host and the fig eventually strangles its host, leaving only a hollow shell.