Plant discovery is considered the world's largest with an area of ​​200 km2 - VN Intellectual

The seagrass bed at Shark Bay (Western Australia), about 800 km north of Perth, is actually just a cloned sapling that has grown steadily for 4,500 years. With a total area of ​​200 square kilometers, or about 20,000 rugby fields, this is said to be the largest plant species in the world today.

Part of the seagrass bed is considered the largest plant in the world today.

Researchers at the University of Western Australia and Flinders University discovered the Poseidon ribbon grass (Posidonia australis) off the coast of Western Australia covering an area of ​​200 square kilometers. An entire field grows from just one seedling, spreading by cloning itself. Therefore, this is most likely the largest plant in the world. The new study was published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B on May 25.

Initially, the team of scientists conducted a study on the genetic diversity of the seagrass fields in Shark Bay. They sampled young shoots from all over the region, from a variety of environments, and then tested for 18,000 genetic markers to profile the plants.

'The results we got were astounded. That's only one! A tree has spread more than 180 km in Shark Bay, becoming the largest plant ever recorded on Earth. The 200 square kilometer field of ribbon grass appears to have grown from a single seedling,' said Jane Edgeloe, the study's lead author.

Poseidon ribbon grass sets a convincing new record, at least in terms of area. The old record for the largest plant in the world belonged to the Pando aspen tree in Utah, USA. This tree has cloned itself into a community connected by the same root system. Pando spreads in an area of ​​0.4 square kilometers, meaning the seagrass field is more than 400 times larger. However, Pando may be larger in terms of biomass.

The team of experts estimate that Poseidon ribbon grass in Australia is at least 4,500 years old. They also figured out how it manages to cope with environmental changes despite its lack of genetic diversity. It is a polyploid plant, meaning that it actually contains two full genomes from the parent plant instead of just receiving two halves.

'Polyploid plants usually live in places with extreme environmental conditions, often cannot reproduce normally, but can continue to grow if not disturbed and this huge seagrass field has done get that. Even without successful flowering and seeding, it appears to be very resilient, experiencing varying levels of heat and salinity, plus extreme light conditions – stressors for most plants. animals,' explains Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair, senior author of the study.

The team plans to continue digging deeper into Poseidon ribbon grass to uncover more secrets about how it grows.