Yesterday in the park, I saw something very unusual – stakes sticking out of the ground around a tree. Why would roots need to come out? This morning, I conducted a small study and found the answer, which I am happy to share.
These are pneumatophores – upward-growing respiratory roots of the American bald cypress (in this case). At the top, they have small openings through which air enters the air-carrying system of such roots. Air-carrying – because these roots internally have hollow air ducts. The roots of swamp plants, like this cypress, are in unfavorable conditions in terms of breathing. In the water-saturated soil, various fermentation and decay processes occur, and oxygen in the top soil layers is completely absorbed, so evolution has concocted a way to equip these roots with additional air intakes. That’s why not any tree can grow in swamps, but such adapted ones with vertical roots that extract air can.
Hi, I'm Rauf Aliev. 