Palm Sunday

With Brandy Gordon:

Forbes, Meet The Palm Tree That Locals Swear Can Walk — A Biologist Explains

Deep in the rainforests of Central and South America, there lives an iconic palm tree known as Socratea exorrhiza, or “cashapona.” For generations, local tour guides have told visitors an eerie story: that this palm doesn’t just stand in one place. By growing new roots and abandoning the old ones, it virtually “walks.” According to some legends, it can even walk as far as 20 meters (65 feet) a year.

Of course, when scientists studied Socratea exorrhiza, what they found wasn’t supernatural. The palm doesn’t “walk” in the sense that it literally uproots itself. Instead, its unique root system is a sophisticated evolutionary adaptation to difficult ground.
. . .
The notion that Socratea exorrhiza can “migrate” across a forest floor was likely first formalized in the 1980s by John Bodley and Foley Benson, who, in a study published in the journal Biotropica, speculated that the palm’s roots might allow it to “walk” away from its original germination spot.

This idea, which was likely just an analogy, caught on like wildfire among rainforest guides. And as most mysterious stories do, it’s evolved disproportionately over the years: it’s 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.
. . .
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 “movement.”

According to their 2005 study, 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 “walk” is nothing more than an urban legend; Avalos’ study ultimately proved that the tree’s base doesn’t move at all.

These palms were quite common in parts of Costa Rica. Our tour guide told us the story. I didn't believe it then, but was too polite to throw the bullshit flag.

Linked at The Pirate's Cove in the weekly Sorta Blogless Sunday Pinup and links.