Tiger Gallemore, age 10, of Huntington Beach, Calif., for his question:

WHAT ARE EPIPHYTES?

When a scientist sees the letters "phyte" in a word, he knows that it has something to do with plants. The epiphytes are air plants. This seems odd because all plants need to take both oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air. However, most plants have roots that take moisture and food chemicals from the soil. The epiphytes do not. These so called air plants take almost everything they need from the air.

They need plenty of air space, but they do not have to set down roots on the crowded forest floor. Many of them perch aloft on the boughs of tall trees, others perch on telephone poles and even high cliffs. There among the circulating breezes they absorb moisture, oxygen and carbon dioxide from the air  and use the energy of sunlight to grow their greenery. Some of the epiphytes are gorgeous orchids, others are shy little lichens. One of the best known ephiphytes of the Southeastern states is the Spanish moss that dangles from many roadside trees.