A strangler fig (Ficus aurea) encircles a bald cypress (Taxodium distichum) tree in Corkscrew Swamp Sanctuary, Naples, Florida. Ficus aurea, commonly known as the Florida strangler fig (or simply strangler fig), golden fig, or higuer籀n, is a tree in the family Moraceae that is native to the U.S. state of Florida. In figs of this type, seed germination usually takes place in the canopy of a host tree with the seedling living as an epiphyte until its roots establish contact with the ground, after which it enlarges and strangles its host, eventually becoming a freestanding tree in its own right.