Actually, the most apparent reason tropical palm trees are so tall irl is so that the tree suffer less damage from flooding, tidal waves, etc... In other words, they are actually fairly good at surviving strong oceanic forces. Also if the islands are indeed like sandbars, this would indicate that while the island may submerge far enough to completely cover the trees it still remains relatively too shallow to support strong currents.
As for bamboo, bamboo actually has a couple of interesting traits. The first is that bamboo is one of the fastest growing plants in the world.
The second is that the roots of one bamboo stalk can actually spread out and grow additional stalks. These stalks then spread the roots further and perpetuate the growth.
So if we work with Solanumtinkr's subsurface ecosystem theory, it could be the case that Eastern Bamboo has a single tap root that reaches from this ecosystem to the island's surface. Once the land emerges from the sea, the presence of air signals the plant to quickly sprout stalks so as to photosynthesize while it can. As this surface structure is meant to be temporary, it easily 'dies' and breaks off when the island submerges once more (like deciduous trees growing leaves for spring and summer and losing them for fall and winter).
23-Oct-2016 09:03:44
