Stats

Lifespan: Up to 100 yrs
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Tropical rainforest
Range: Central and South America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Spines
Status: Uncommon

About

The walking palm grows a cone of spindly stilt roots that prop it above the forest floor, letting it slowly shift its trunk toward light gaps as older roots die and new ones grow. Found across lowland rainforests from Honduras to Bolivia, it is one of the few palms whose distinctive root architecture makes it instantly recognisable from a distance.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Liliopsida
Order: Arecales
Family: Arecaceae
Genus: Socratea
Species: Socratea exorrhiza