In article ,
wrote...

Has anyone looked in AGRICOLA? BRBR

After asking that, I looked myself. There is one article available on stilt
roots in tropical palms.
Further searching revealed that the best-known species of the tropical stilt
rooted palms are
A HREF="http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Iriartea/deltoidea.html" Iriartea
deltoidea/A.
and A HREF="http://www.pacsoa.org.au/palms/Socratea/exorrhiza.html"PACSOA -
Socratea exorrhiza/A

There is no mention anywhere of any of these trees "walking", so the whole
thing may be a myth, like the deadliness of the Upas tree.
Iris,
Central NY, Zone 5a, Sunset Zone 40
"If we see light at the end of the tunnel, It's the light of the oncoming
train."
Robert Lowell (1917-1977)

I also did a database search for (Iriartea or Socratea)
and root*, and at first didn't find much.

Title: ANATOMICAL AND MORPHOLOGICAL STUDY OF THE ADVENTITIOUS ROOTS OF
IRIARTEA-EXORRHIZA THE RASP
PALM AND THEIR GROWTH.
Author, Editor, Inventor: VILHENA-R-C-Q-D {a}; LINS-A; LUNA-M-D-S
ource: Boletim-do-Museu-Paraense-Emilio-Goeldi-Serie-Botanica. 1984
(RECD. 1985); 1 (1-2): 87-110.
Language: PORTUGESE
Abstract: I. exorrhiza is a common palm tree in the Brazilian Amazon
region, remarkable because of its stilt roots. The external morphology,
growth, and anatomy of the aerial stilt roots were studied from the
time of their erupting from the trunk and breaching the bark until they
became anchored in the soil. Chemical analysis of the root tissues and
of the covering mucilaginous secretion were performed. The mucilage
which flows from canals in wounded roots is rich in crystals of calcium
oxalate. The rate of initiation and the growth rate of stilt roots are
correlated with rainfall. Daily growth rate of the roots was 4.13-7.94
cm.

No mention of "walking".

Still, it'd be fascinating if there is a novel mechanism at work
enabling these trees to actually move around, but it sounds like
if so, maybe no-one has studied it?

looking elsewhere, I found

Author(s): Schatz, G.E. ; Williamson, G.B. ; Cogswell, C.M. ;
Stam, A.C.
Title: Stilt roots and growth of arboreal palms.
Source: Biotropica. 17, no. 3 (Sept 1985): p. 206-209. ill.
Additional Info: Fairfax, Va. : Association for Tropical Biology.
Publishing Agencies: US Imprint, not USDA
Abstract: Patterns in the growth of palms support the hypothesis that
stilt roots enable arboreal palms to produce an axis early in their
development. The height of stilt roots is positively related to axis
diameter for Socratea durissima and Iriartea gigantea. Both species
achieve greater heights per unit diameter earlier in development than
the non-stilt root species Welfia georgii;[SNIP]

Talks about the roots function in supporting the plants growth,
but no mention of walking.

But finally, I found this one promising-seeming one:

Author(s): Bodley, J.H. ; Benson, F.C.
Title: Stilt-root walking by an iriarteoid palm Socratea exorrhiza in
the Peruvian Amazon.
Source: Biotropica. Mar 1980. v. 12 (1) : p. 67-71. ill. ISSN:
0006-3606 Additional Info: Fairfax, Va., Association for Tropical
Biology. Publishing Agencies: US Imprint, not USDA
Abstract: The aerial stilt roots of Socratea exorrhiza allow this palm
literally to pick itself up and "walk" out from under fallen limbs and
obstacles that are major hazards for immature palms. The lower trunk
and older roots rot away and are left behind as the tree sends out new
roots and moves away from its germination point.

I just looked at this article, and it's a bit disappointing: the
"walking" is actually quite clearly documented, but its just a
mechanism by which relatively small juvenile palm plants right
themselves after being flattened by falling tree limbs, debris, etc.
The "walking" is just the formation of new stilt roots along the
now-horizontal segmant of the trunk of the flattened young plant,
and the eventual bending upward of the growing tip to form a new
erect trunk. The flattened juvenile "walks" basically by behaving
a bit like a creeping rhizome, then bending upright at the tip and
reestablishing vertical growth a few inches to a few feet away from
the original base of the palm. The righting proces may take years
[the flattened juveniles are reportedly set back in their
development].

So, there's likely no exotic "walking" mechanism involved, just a
knocked-over juvenile palm stem rooting along its length.
Apparently the large adult plants with their prominent stilts
don't use them to walk [at least the article illustrates them but
doesn't mention walking by them].

cheers

Well, I didn't mean to spur an arguement. It was a botanist that
told me that they really do move, he said they have done long
term studies to prove it. The roots on the receding side to
decay or something like that. I was just trying to find the real name for
these.

As a matter of fact I learned of many weird things about plants,
how one some of them you can see the stem change color, that is
really like an elbow. It is used to turn the leaves to the sun throughout
the day.

Some kinds of trees in the jungle quickly grow to about 7 feet and stop
until the large trees around them fall down, then they have a growing
spurt to try to become the dominant tree in that part of the canopy.

Truth is stranger than fiction.


"Alan Jones" wrote in message
news:4cqNa.1716$7e.1643@fed1read07...
I was in the jungle of Tortuguero in north east Costa Rica,
and was shown some trees that they called Walking Trees.
They stood up in the air on their roots and actually could
move a little distance each year. I believe they said their
name was something like "Makainki" but I cannot find that
word.

Can someone tell me the proper name for the Walking Tree
in Costa Rica?

Hi, I believe they are called walking palms and their common name is Chonta... we were staying on the Osa Peninsula and the dog at our lodge was called Chonta after the trees. Hope this helps!

PS, Our guide told us that the trees move towards the light by growing more roots on the side of the tree nearest the sun or something and gradually uprooting... a very slow process but the ones we saw definitely looked like they were on the move!