Nothing makes you think about a tropical island getaway or vacation in the sun like the presence of palm trees. I remember the enthusiasm I displayed on my first trip to the beach. We knew our destination on the sands, and a beautiful body of water was near because the scenic route was lined with tall palm trees like a wall on either side of the highway.
Ironically, palm trees can reach heights of 75 feet or more and have root systems that grow no more than 3 feet deep. The roots usually grow horizontally rather than vertically during its period of growth. In addition, palm tree roots remain in that precarious state as the tree grows taller, contrary to how we see other large tree root systems grow.
For instance, many would believe that as a tree grows above ground, the root system would grow similar to it in depth below the soil. Like a 50-foot-tall tree having roots just as deep and wide from the tree’s trunk down into the ground. On the contrary, you can find palm trees well over 60 feet tall with much shorter roots than that.
Yet they are strong and powerful trees, able to withstand the toughest of weather conditions.
How do palm trees survive such severe storms and hurricanes with short roots?
Plant ecologist Dan Metcalfe states that palm trees have three features that help them overcome the dreadful conditions of cyclones, tsunamis, and even hurricanes.
1. Its Fibrous Roots
With such shallow root systems, many wonder how palm trees survive such harsh storm systems. Hurricanes, typhoons, and tornados are no joke as they usher in winds over 100 miles per hour at times. Yet, after many storms, the palm tree is one of the few things left standing.
Palms have a fibrous tree root system. That means its roots adapt in such a way that they branch out in a pattern that enables it to maximize nutrient and water absorption. Its root system has many short roots that spread across the soil’s upper level.
In addition, fibrous root systems grow … Read the rest of the story.
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