Buttressed Tree Roots
We saw this fascinating tree at a place called Hacienda Baru, which is a couple of kilometers north of Dominical, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica. Those roots are the same height as my mother, who is about 5' tall. It is thought that the reason rainforest trees developed these shallow roots is to give the tree a broad base of support under windy conditions. Another theory is that these roots are an adaptation to the shallow rainforest soils, so that the roots seek nutrients near the surface.
If you knock on the roots, it is obvious that they are hollow.
posted by Muriel at 8:39 a.m.
4 Comments:
Absolutely amazing tree! It is beautiful. I have never been to Costa Rica, however, I have been to Dominica where I saw some incredible trees & plants. You have a lovely blog. I am enjoying my visit.
Thank you Judith. Glad you are enjoying my ramblings about Costa Rica. It has been really good to do the research on so many of the plants I saw.
I always thought that buttressed roots indicated that the tree was fast-growing and tall but from your photo it doesn't look like that tree is very tall at all - especially compared to its roots.
Great site.
It is remarkable, very amusing phrase
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