E. J. H. Corner in 1961 hypothesised that the unusual stilt roots of S. exorrhiza were an adaptation to allow the palm to grow in swampy areas of forest.

John H. Bodley suggested in 1980 that they in fact allow the palm to "walk" away from the point of germination if another tree falls on the seedling and knocks it over.

[3] Radford writes in the Skeptical Inquirer in December 2009 that "As interesting as it would be to think that when no one is around trees walk the rainforest floor, it is a mere myth", and cites two detailed studies that came to this conclusion.

Hartshorn suggested in 1983 that stilt roots allow the palm to grow upwards to reach light without having to increase the diameter of the stem.

The most common epiphytes were three species of fern, Ananthacorus angustifolius, Elaphoglossum sporadolepis and Dicranoglossum panamense, altogether accounting for 30% of all the individuals recorded.

Other common species, representing more than 5% of the individuals found, included Scaphyglottis longicaulis (Orchidaceae), Philodendron schottianum (Araceae) and Guzmania subcorymbosa (Bromeliaceae).

[10] Socratea exorrhiza flowers mostly during the dry season[11] and is considered to be beetle pollinated, being frequently visited by species of Phyllotrox (Derelomini) and Mystrops (Nitidulidae).

[17] A harpoon foreshaft identified as wood of the palm was found with a large flaked lithic projectile point in an underwater preceramic site the middle Xingu.