It's hard to imagine a tree moving from one side to the other on its own, but it actually happens. In Central America, “walking” trees move 20 meters each year.
In one year they can travel a distance of up to 20 meters.
It's hard to imagine a tree moving from one side to the other on its own. But, as strange as this may seem, it is possible and it really happens. Socratea exorhiza is the species known as the “Walking Palm”. Each year these trees are capable of moving up to 20 meters.
Endemic to the tropical forest, the palm tree is most common in Central America, but it reaches as far as the Amazon River basin, already in Brazilian territory. Despite being unique in its unusual habit, this difference is not enough to guarantee its total preservation.
In Brazil, walking palm trees are widely used in making walking sticks, in civil construction and even in the manufacture of small boats. In Costa Rica, environmental legislation completely prohibits the harvesting of this species, while in Ecuador, even with preservation areas, it still suffers at the hands of deforesters.
The displacement of this tree has caught the attention of researchers for years. Some hypotheses about the evolution of species have already been challenged, but later discarded. What is known is that they change locations in search of better soil and more sunlight.
The walk is slow but steady. The trees move two to three centimeters daily. In one year they can travel a distance of up to 20 meters. This happens through new roots, which grow at small distances from the old ones. When the old roots rot, the entire trunk is displaced along with the new roots. As surprising as this may be, unfortunately these trees cannot move fast enough to escape deforestation.
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