From The Lord of the Rings’ giant living tree-like beings ‘Ents’ to Harry Potter’s attacking tree ‘Whomping Willow,’ we have a plethora of references for moving trees in the fantasy world, but did you know in the real world, there is a species of tree that has been widely purported to “walk”?
Socratea exorrhiza, known as Cashapona or the walking palm tree, is a type of palm tree that can be found in the rain forests of Latin America – where it is said to be able to “walk” and grow new roots where it relocates.
The phenomenon, which has been debated for more than a decade, has been disputed by some experts including biologist Gerardo Avalos who states in his 2005 analysis paper on the tree and its roots that even though the tree occasionally produces new roots to make it seems like it’s moving, the trunk of the tree remains intact in its place with its roots doesn’t technically move.
Although, a recent claim by paleobiologist Peter Vrsansky states otherwise.
“As the soil erodes, the tree grows new, long roots that find new and more solid ground, sometimes up to 20m, then, slowly, as the roots settle in the new soil and the tree bends patiently toward the new roots, the old roots slowly lift into the air. The whole process for the tree to relocate to a new place with better sunlight and more solid ground can take a couple of years,” said Vrsansky to BBC who claimed to have seen the phenomenon firsthand.
However, as much as we want to believe that this tree can walk, the only evidence of it moving is its roots branching out, which is debunked by Avalos stating that even though the tree’s roots branch out, it doesn’t move the tree itself.
The only other evidence of the phenomenon are people claiming they saw the tree move but don’t have a piece of viable evidence to back up their claims – not a timelapse of the tree “walking” nor a documentation of how it “walked.”
So, to answer the question of whether the socratea exorrhiza can actually walk, the lack of evidence leads to the answer: No.
Until someone has probable evidence to prove it moving, the walking palm tree is not walking at the moment.
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