5 Mysterious Facts About Walking Palm May Surprise You

In our childhood, sometimes we used to wonder if trees could walk, then how it would be. Could you ever imagine the existence of walking palm trees? Peter Vrsansky, a palaeobiologist from the Earth Science Institute of the Slovak Academy of Sciences Bratislava, claims that he has experienced this phenomenon firsthand. Certain palm trees truly move across the forest due to the growth of new roots that make them shift 2-3 cm daily, the same as the Ents from Tolkien's Lord of the Rings saga. 'Socratea exorrhiza,' simply named by walking palm or 'cashapona,' is a native palm tree found in tropical Central and South America. The palm trees grow long due to soil erosion, and new roots move from shade to sunlight and to more solid grounds. Then the old roots rise in the air and die. The whole procedure takes a couple of years, according to Peter Vrsansky. On the contrary, a biologist, Gerardo Avalos, published a detailed report on walking palms, mentioning that these trees couldn't move in the true sense as their roots could not proceed further. Let's thoroughly study whether this unbelievable fact is a myth or truth.

Like other trees, walking palms are not having roots hidden underground. They have an outgrowth of roots several feet above the ground from the base of the trees. When these roots die off, new roots emerge, and the same process continues until the tree's death. Besides, large spines on these stilt roots also prevent them from grazing predators. Is there an actual mystery that prevailed in the roots of walking palms to have a walk across the forest? Sadly, the answer is no. Their unique root system helps them to be more stable in swampy or marshy areas. There is less biomass in their underground roots like other palm trees. The long and sturdy roots of palm trees give them the appearance of multiple legs. But do those legs-like roots enable them to walk in the forest or to relocate? This unbelievable fact has been exchanged between tour guides and tourists for years. This fact or myth, whatever you can consider it, is represented as a mysterious story in various sources of social as well as print media.

The trunk of a slender 10-20 meter high walking palm tree evolves from its unique root system, which measures about 20 centimeters, raised above the ground. Walking palms bloom in the dry season and are pollinated by the beetle. You should know that the weight of the seeds is 3.5 grams, with a length of 2 cm and a width of 1.5 cm. Only 45% of these can germinate, and one-quarter die.

The walking palms are enjoying the privilege or competitive advantage in the rainforest. Surprised!! How? Those strange Stlit roots help them to grow taller to avail the sunlight in the rainforests despite having no growth of the stems. Thus, they won over the struggle for existence in the rainforests. As we know, due to the rainforests' canopy cover, very little sunlight can reach the forest floor. So, all the trees struggle consistently for life by growing taller to get sunlight which is their main element in processing food. But only some could win the race, like walking palms. However, we all do the same in this world of struggle for existence. In this struggle, the fittest could survive, and here is an example of Walking Palms. In The Origin of Species, Darwin declared this fact.

Apart from the mythical facts about walking palms, they are useful enough. Doesn't it seem interesting? The trunks of these palm trees are being used to construct houses and other structures. Furthermore, the trunks are used for hunting spears. But before use, the trunk is usually split lengthwise. It is used as a tube, too, as it can be hollowed out. The Amazonians traditionally use the spiny roots of walking palms to produce plant-based food. Its yellow fruits are also edible. Besides, the forest-dwellers have used its roots for their medical practices, like treating aphrodisiacs and hepatitis. Therefore, we can say that walking palms can walk or not in real, but it makes a worthwhile contribution to society with further prospectives.

Dr. Bodley revealed a fascinating fact about walking palm trees in a journal by the Association for Tropical Biology and Conservation. When another tree knocks over the palm seedling at the beginning of the growth from a seed, do you wonder what the tree will do then? The fact will leave you awestruck that the palm tree uses its roots to relocate itself from the place. Thus, walking palms migrate like us to walk away from the hindrances during infancy. However, no time-lapse movie of Walking Palms exists so that one can see the palm trees walking. Unfortunately, the walking palms are at risk of extinction. We should prioritize conservation measures to protect this unique gift of nature.

You must have heard about migratory birds. Have you ever heard about migratory trees? According to some recent studies in the journal Science Advances, trees are walking away due to climate change, particularly the change in the rainfall pattern of their indigenous places. Some broad-leafed trees, like oak, maple, etc., are steading west in search of more wetter areas. These trees can sustain floods and drought. They have a large seed mass which resists seedling's premature death. Climate change threatens them to shift westwards. Tree migration may prevent species extinction but destabilizes the forest ecosystem.