Forest canopies are defined as the aggregate of tree crowns in a stand of vegetation (Parker, 1995) and are a dynamic, functional interface between terrestrial biomass and the atmosphere (Ozanne et al., 2003; Nakamura et al., 2017). The canopies support diverse organisms ranging from insects to plants (Erwin, 1991; Nadkarni, 1994; Lowman and Schowalter, 2012). The presence of this rich diversity has been attributed to the structural complexity, availability of microhabitats, and resources within the canopy (reviewed in Ozanne et al., 2003). The loss or alteration to forests and the canopy is bound to profoundly influence aspects such as nutrient fluxes, carbon sequestration, plant water relations, and biodiversity support (Ozanne et al., 2003; Nadkarni et al., 2011; Lowman, 2020). Although globally acknowledged to be an important habitat, our knowledge and understanding of the canopies has only begun to gradually expand over the past four decades (Lowman, 2020). Forest canopies serve as an important habitat for plants that germinate and root non-parasitically on other plants at all stages of life, termed epiphytes (Benzing, 2004; Zotz, 2016). Vascular epiphytes are diverse, comprising over 31,100 species distributed globally and accounting for nearly 10% of all extant plants (Benzing, 2004; Nakamura et al., 2017; Zotz et al., 2021). Although distributed globally, the diversity of vascular epiphytes peaks in the humid subtropical and tropical regions (Zotz and Hietz, 2001; Wolf and Flamenco-S, 2003; Zotz et al., 2021). Vascular epiphytes are vertically stratified on trees (Benzing, 1995) and occupy a three-dimensional space within the canopy, resulting in varying distribution patterns when observed at different ecological scales (Mendieta-Leiva and Zotz, 2015) such as individual trees (e.g., Freiberg, 1996), vertically on trees (e.g., Petter et al., 2015), across forest stands (e.g., van Leerdam et al., 1990; Nieder et al., 2000; van Dunné, 2002; Wolf and Flamenco-S, 2003; Alvarenga et al., 2009), and elevation gradients (e.g., Cardelús et al., 2005; Ding et al., 2016). Irrespective of their distribution, vascular epiphytes are vital to maintaining several canopy-atmosphere interactions (reviewed in Lowman and Schowalter, 2012) including nutrient flux regulation; temperature regimes (Scheffers et al., 2014); and plant-water relations (Van Stan and Pypker, 2015). They also enhance the structural and functional diversity of the canopy ecosystem by providing resources to a wide variety of organisms ranging from insects to mammals (Nadkarni andMatelson, 1989; Nadkarni and Longino, 1990; Nakamura et al., 2017). Observed distribution patterns are attributed to the physiology of the epiphyte (Zotz and Hietz, 2001), microclimatic conditions (Krömer et al., 2006), and a varying degree of affinity to host tree characteristics (Wagner et al., 2015). Host trees are the fundamental unit of habitat for epiphytes, and it follows that tree size and architecture influence the diversity of epiphytes (Flores-Palacios and Garcia-Franco, 2006; Zotz and Schultz, 2008; Wolf et al., 2009; Zhao et al., 2015). Typically, large trees with greater diameter are older and have had greater time for epiphyte colonization events as well as a greater variation in light and humidity (Benzing, 2004; Burns, 2007). Furthermore, aspects of the host tree such as substrate characteristics (Kernan and Fowler, 1995), phenology (Einzmann et al., 2015), and branch throughfall (Winkler et al., 2005) may affect the patterns of epiphyte colonization and survival (Callaway et al., 2002).