''Socratea'' is a
genus
Genus (; : genera ) is a taxonomic rank above species and below family (taxonomy), family as used in the biological classification of extant taxon, living and fossil organisms as well as Virus classification#ICTV classification, viruses. In bino ...
of five
species
A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...
of
palms found in
tropical
The tropics are the regions of Earth surrounding the equator, where the sun may shine directly overhead. This contrasts with the temperate or polar regions of Earth, where the Sun can never be directly overhead. This is because of Earth's ax ...
Central America and South America.
[Kew World Checklist of Selected Plant Families]
/ref>
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. 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.
Species
* '' Socratea exorrhiza'' (Mart.) H.Wendl. - Costa Rica, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia, Venezuela, the Guianas, Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, northern and western Brazil (States of Amazonas, Amapá, Mato Grosso, Pará, Rondônia, Roraima)
* '' Socratea hecatonandra'' (Dugand) R.Bernal - Colombia, Ecuador
* '' Socratea montana'' R.Bernal & A.J.Hend. - Colombia, Ecuador
* '' Socratea rostrata'' Burret - Peru, Colombia, Ecuador
* '' Socratea salazarii'' H.E.Moore - Peru, Bolivia, western Brazil (State of Acre)
References
External links
* http://www.bbc.com/travel/story/20151207-ecuadors-mysterious-walking-trees
Arecaceae genera
Iriarteeae
Flora of the Neotropical realm
Taxa named by Gustav Karl Wilhelm Hermann Karsten
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