Epiphytes
In rain forests, the canopy produced by the upper layer of branches may be so dense that few plants can grow on the shady ground below. Even so, many plants have adapted to life in the rain forest, developing fascinating strategies for survival. For example, various species known as epiphytes use a host plant as a platform for growth. Although epiphytes grow on a host tree, they take no nutrients from the tree itself. Attached to the tree, sometimes 30 or 40 meters high, these aerial plants have access to sunlight but not to nutrients from the soil below. As a result, they have developed unusual mechanisms that have allowed them to overcome this problem.
Using the example of the urn plant, explain how epiphytes have adapted to life in the rain forest.