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A legendary \u201cwalking\u201d tree has captivated rainforest visitors for decades. However, the truth behind its strange, stilted roots is far more fascinating than the myth.<\/p>\n
Matthew Williams-Ellis\/Universal Images Group via Getty Images<\/p>\n
Deep in the rainforests of Central and South America, there lives an iconic palm tree known as Socratea\u202fexorrhiza, or \u201ccashapona.\u201d For generations, local tour guides have told visitors an eerie story: that this palm doesn\u2019t just stand in one place. By growing new roots and abandoning the old ones, it virtually \u201cwalks.\u201d According to some legends, it can even walk as far as 20 meters (65 feet) a year.<\/p>\n
Of course, when scientists studied Socratea exorrhiza, what they found wasn\u2019t supernatural. The palm doesn\u2019t \u201cwalk\u201d in the sense that it literally uproots itself. Instead, its unique root system is a sophisticated evolutionary adaptation<\/a> to difficult ground. <\/p>\n A Palm Tree That Looks Like It Has Legs<\/p>\n Look at Socratea exorrhiza too quickly, and you might think it stands on stilts. This is because its trunk rises from a cone of stilt-like roots that extend several feet above the soil, before angling into the ground. This structure gives the palm an eerie, almost animal-like posture \u2014 as though it\u2019s being held up by multiple tentacle-like legs, rather than anchored by a normal root system.<\/p>\n Picture of walking palm or cashapona (Socratea exorrhiza), taken in the Yasuni National Park, in the Ecuadorean Amazon forest.<\/p>\n AFP via Getty Images<\/p>\n But those \u201clegs\u201d are no illusion. They are real, and they serve powerful biological functions. According to a detailed study<\/a> of the palm\u2019s stilt roots at forest sites in Panama and Costa Rica, published in Revista de Biolog\u00eda Tropical, the roots provide mechanical stability and facilitate rapid vertical growth.<\/p>\n This means that, even if the surrounding ground is uneven, swampy or prone to erosion, the palm\u2019s elevated roots enable it to stay upright. Most notably, it does so without needing to invest heavily in a thicker trunk, as most other tree species would.<\/p>\n Does The Walking Palm Tree Actually Walk?<\/p>\n The notion that Socratea exorrhiza can \u201cmigrate\u201d across a forest floor was likely first formalized in the 1980s by John Bodley and Foley Benson, who, in a study<\/a> published in the journal Biotropica, speculated that the palm\u2019s roots might allow it to \u201cwalk\u201d away from its original germination spot.<\/p>\n This idea, which was likely just an analogy, caught on like wildfire among rainforest guides. And as most mysterious stories do, it\u2019s evolved disproportionately over the years: it\u2019s since been said that the palm regrows new stilt roots in places where it thinks conditions are better, while its older roots die off. Some locals even claim that the palm can crawl from 2 to 3 centimeters (0.8 to 1.2 inches) per day, or up to 20 meters (65 feet) per year.<\/p>\n But as alluring as this story is, science has largely challenged this interpretation. In 2005, tropical ecologist Gerardo Avalos and colleagues conducted field research on the walking palm, including measuring root growth and trunk position, and found no evidence of any actual \u201cmovement.\u201d <\/p>\n According to their 2005 study<\/a>, also published in the journal Biotropica, the trunk of the palm remains fixed: its new roots grow, and its old roots die. In other words, the theory that this palm can \u201cwalk\u201d is nothing more than an urban legend; Avalos\u2019 study ultimately proved that the tree\u2019s base doesn\u2019t move at all.<\/p>\n As Benjamin Radford explained in correspondence<\/a> published by the Skeptical Inquirer, the myth likely proliferated due to its intuitive value: \u201cThe idea has some plausibility on its face \u2014 plants do grow toward sunlight \u2014 and the rain-forest is home to many unusual plants. But a tree that walks?\u201d<\/p>\n As he continues, it becomes clear that, with a little critical thought and scrutiny, the idea of a walking tree becomes so far-fetched that it even seems comical. \u201cIf they encountered a half-buried boulder during their walk, would the walking trees trip?\u201d Radford asked hypothetically. \u201cAnd if they did, would they fall very, very slowly?\u201d<\/p>\n Why Does The \u2018Walking Palm Tree\u2019 Have Such Long, Elevated Roots?<\/p>\n If the walking palm tree is a myth, then why is it that Socratea exorrhiza bears such dramatic stilt roots in the first place? Most likely, the answer lies in a combination of the tree\u2019s structural needs and ecological strategy. These include, according to the abovementioned Revista de Biolog\u00eda Tropical study:<\/p>\n Stability in challenging soils. Rainforest floors are often soft, wet and unstable. Stilt roots form a wide base, which gives the trunk the necessary mechanical support for preventing both collapse and tipping.Vertical growth without girth. Rather than investing in a massive trunk, the palm can instead allocate its resources to grow upwards. The roots support structural load without requiring a bulky below\u2011ground system.Height advantage. By growing stilt roots, Socratea can quickly exploit light gaps in the canopy, without needing to wait long enough for its trunk to thicken. This is critical in a dense forest, as competition for sunlight is fierce in these contexts.<\/p>\n However, the myth of the walking palm somehow still manages to persist today. Yet, to ecologists and evolutionary biologists, Socratea exorrhiza is far more than a weird tourist tale. It\u2019s a living case study in adaptation, which shows us the precise ways that plants evolve in order to solve complex environmental challenges. <\/p>\n Yet, after decades of study, the scientific consensus is clear: the walking palm does not, in fact, actually relocate its trunk in any way. That said, to dismiss the tree\u2019s fascinating root structure as a gimmick would be to miss the real wonder. Socratea exorrhiza didn\u2019t evolve to stroll across the forest floor; it evolved to stand resilient where life demands it most.<\/p>\n Are you an animal lover who owns a pet? Take the science-backed Pet Personality Test<\/a> to know how well you know your little friend.<\/p>\n