The curious habit of shingle-leaf climbers – root-climbing plants whose leaves are closely adpressed to the phorophyte and often overlap like shingles – has attracted the attention of both botanists and horticulturists for more than a century. The habit has arisen in ten families, 22 genera, and at least 158 species and is especially common in several genera of Araceae and Marcgravia (Marcgraviaceae). Herein, the species are tabulated, and various hypotheses for the evolution of the habit are reviewed. Two hypotheses that emerge as having explanatory power for understory shingle-leaf climbers are 1) Trapping & Recycling CO₂ and 2) Stemflow Nutrient Capture, but other hypotheses may also have support in some cases. Three hypotheses (Balancing Carbon Allocation, Avoiding Damage from Falling Objects, and Avoiding Herbivory) have some support for some species. One hypothesis (Protecting against Desiccation of Roots and Leaves) has some support for shingle-leaf climbers in exposed, sunny habitats (viz., Hoya, Dischidia, Cattleya cernua and other orchids). Different selective pressures may have led to convergence on the shingle-leaf habit in different habitats. Moreover, these hypotheses are not necessarily mutually exclusive. Few hypotheses have been explicitly tested, and so the adaptive significance of the shingle-leaf climber habit remains uncertain.

带状叶子的攀援者的好奇习惯-一种根部攀爬的植物，其叶子紧紧贴在植物上，通常像带状疱疹一样重叠-在一个多世纪以来一直吸引着植物学家和园艺家的注意。该习性已经出现在十个科中，共22属，至少有158种，并且在天南星科和Marcgraviace（Marcgraviaceae）的几个属中尤为常见。在此，将物种列表化，并审查关于该习性演变的各种假设。对假设的下层木瓦攀登者具有解释力的两个假说是：1）诱捕和回收CO ₂和2）干流营养物捕获，但其他假说在某些情况下也可能有支持。三种假设（平衡碳分配，避免掉落物体造成的损害以及避免食草性对某些物种有一定的支持。一种假设（防止根和叶干燥）对暴露在阳光充足的栖息地（如霍亚，迪斯基迪亚，卡特兰cernua和其他兰花）的带状叶子攀登者有一定的支持。不同的选择压力可能导致不同生境的带状叶习性趋同。此外，这些假设不一定相互排斥。很少有假设得到明确检验，因此带状叶子登山者习惯的适应性意义仍不确定。