Its vulgar name refers to the resemblance to the common fig due to the fruit type, a syconim which is pollinated, in the case of this fig, specifically by the wasp Blastophaga cabrerae. It also has other names such as matapalo or agarrapalo due to its strangling habit.

The seeds are spread by birds and germinate in any crevice or crown or tree trunks where soil accumulates. At first it grows like epiphytes using the means as a support. The stems grow upwards looking for sun and the roots downwards till they reach the ground. They thicken and blend to form a false trunk wrapping the surface. The real trunk with leaves grows on the support, depriving it from light, which in the case of a plant, weakens it to death