From Wikipedia - Reading time: 6 min
| Socratea | |
|---|---|
| Socratea exorrhiza stilt roots | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Angiosperms |
| Clade: | Monocots |
| Clade: | Commelinids |
| Order: | Arecales |
| Family: | Arecaceae |
| Subfamily: | Arecoideae |
| Tribe: | Iriarteeae |
| Genus: | Socratea H.Karst. |
| Synonyms[1] | |
| |
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]