Covering 43 hectares, the forest shares a single root system with each tree genetically identical to one another.
An ecologist from Utah State University is warning one of the world’s largest living things, a colony of genetically identical trees sharing a single root system, is in danger of breaking up into several distinct parts, for the first time in its long history.
Dubbed Pando, this unique colony of aspen trees was first suspected to be something out of the ordinary in the mid-1970s. Subsequent genetic testing over the following years revealed each tree in the 100-acre (40.5-ha) colony to be clones of one another, meaning they likely shared a single gigantic underground root system.
The world’s largest living thing is showing signs of breaking up
An ecologist from Utah State University is warning one of the world’s largest living things, a colony of genetically identical trees sharing a single root system, is in danger of breaking up into several distinct parts, for the first time in its long history.
Dubbed Pando, this unique colony of aspen trees was first suspected to be something out of the ordinary in the mid-1970s. Subsequent genetic testing over the following years revealed each tree in the 100-acre (40.5-ha) colony to be clones of one another, meaning they likely shared a single gigantic underground root system.
The world’s largest living thing is showing signs of breaking up