Buttress root

Buttress roots of the kapok tree , Ceiba pentandra

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Buttress roots are up to many meters high, arranged in a star shape, mostly rib-like roots . They give the "giant trees" ( overhangers ) in the shallow soils of the tropical rainforests particular stability. For the nutrient supply in the very nutrient-poor soils of the tropics, there are again “combs” made of a fine network of roots under the buttress roots, which take up a large area but do not reach deep into the earth.

The white elm is one of the few central European trees that can develop buttress roots

The pyramid poplar and the native white elm can also develop buttress roots. They are adapted to the floodplain habitat and endure flooding for weeks. Since wet soils result in insufficient oxygen supply to the roots, no deep-reaching roots can be formed and the buttress roots can thus increase the resulting limited stability of the trees.

Web links

Commons : Buttroot  - album of pictures, videos and audio files

• Bernd Oehmig: Buttress roots (PDF).

Individual evidence

1. ↑ Roloff, Andreas & Michels, Christoph: Survey of trunk circumference of natural monuments and champion trees. In: Allg. Forstztschr./Der Wald 78 (8). Deutscher Landwirtschaftsverlag GmbH, April 2018, pp. 28–31 , accessed on December 21, 2019 .