Walking Palm (Socratea exorrhiza)

I heard a rumor of a tree that can walk. Its footprints don’t last long, quickly erased by the jungle floor. They say it can right itself if toppled by a fallen neighbor, sprouting shoots from its torso. It moves quickly for a tree, in search of water and stable soil — but too slowly for any of us to notice. The walking palm’s roots are like probes, poking through the soil for a bountiful home. The probes converge on a pedestal, a gimbal for the trunk as it spars the forest.