Ever seen a vine zig-zagging up a cabbage palm? If so, have you ever thought about it? Ever wondered why you don’t see vines zig-zagging up oaks or pines?
The odds are great that zig-zag vine is not a vine at all, but rather a root. I’ve been noticing this phenomena for several years, but was reluctant to feature it, because I didn’t have much affirmation from others.
Then I ran across Strangler Fig Rooting Habits and Nutrient Relations in the Llanos of Venezuela by Francis E. Putz and N. Michele Holbrook
“We frequently uncovered the roots of fig trees growing up behind the leaf bases of otherwise fig-free Copernicia palms. Both F. pertusa and F. trigonata were found to have roots that grow into the crowns of palm trees as far as 9 m away from the base of the nearest fig tree. Presumably these roots exploit the nutrient reserves of the material trapped behind marcescent leaf bases.”
Exactly. Here in Florida I’m seeing what I suspect are oak roots that have worked their way in behind the bootjacks in search of nutrients. Because of the pattern of bootjack attachment, the roots dodge and weave as they head up the palm.
Vines are in a hurry to get to light. They travel more directly and outside the bootjacks, like an arbor or trellis. Vines are thicker at ground level and get thinner as they go up. These oak roots lose diameter as they ascend.
Please feel free to comment or send photos of any “zig-zag” vines you find.
I have a cabbage palm in my backyard that had bootjacks all the way to the ground and a small 2 to 3-foot yaupon holly emerging from the boots about halfway up the trunk. Recently, the bootjacks began to fall away revealing zig-zag or stair-step roots. In this case, the holly’s main root is working its way up and there are no roots reaching towards the ground even though the boots were there. Perhaps the palm’s canopy keeps things moister as you go up and therefore more conducive to root growth?
This makes more points than the usual…