Socratea Explained
Socratea is a genus of five species of palms found in tropical Central America and South America.[1] [2] [3]
It is commonly believed that Socratea can move away from where it germinated by growing roots on one side and abandoning them on the other. Attempts to detect this behavior have failed.[4] What is known for a fact is that these roots can, in the case of S. montana, grow to a length of 16.5 feet (five meters) and up to three inches (eight cm) in diameter.[5]
Species
- Socratea exorrhiza (Mart.) H.Wendl. - Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, northern and western Brazil (States of Amazonas, Amapá, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima)
- Socratea hecatonandra (Dugand) R.Bernal - Colombia, Ecuador
- Socratea montana R.Bernal & A.J.Hend. - Colombia, Ecuador
- Socratea rostrata Burret - Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
- Socratea salazarii H.E.Moore - Peru, Bolivia, western Brazil (State of Acre)
External links
- http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151207-ecuadors-mysterious-walking-trees
Notes and References
- http://apps.kew.org/wcsp/namedetail.do?name_id=192762 Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families
- Govaerts, R. & Dransfield, J. (2005). World Checklist of Palms: 1-223. The Board of Trustees of the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
- Henderson, A. 1990. Arecaceae–Part I. Introduction and the Iriarteinae. Flora Neotropica, Monograph 53: 1–100
- http://www.livescience.com/33663-walking-tree-socratea-exorrhiza.html Can 'Walking Palm Trees' Really Walk?
- Henderson . Andrew . May 2, 1990 . Arecaceae - Part 1 . Flora Neotropica . 53 . 84.