secondary hemiepiphytes

From: alan san juan kalim at erols.com> on 2000.05.19 at 02:19:54(4593) I have two questions, maybe someone can help: Monstera deliciosa is probably the most famous example of plants that may start out as seedlings in the soil, before climbing up trees and (maybe) slowly dispensing with its connections to the earth. (1) I'm wondering whether anyone has any other examples of this in the aroid family. +More (2) Is there any evidence or explanation as to why any plant would elect to dispense with a ready supply of water by doing this? Is there some energy consideration involved (eg., too expensive to maintain connections to the ground)? Thanks for any answers. alan.

Note: this is a very old post, so no reply function is available.