Essayer OR - Gratuit

The world's largest organism may have been growing for 80,000 years

How It Works UK

Issue 198

Pando, an enormous quaking aspen that spans more than 40 hectares in Utah, is not only one of the largest known organisms on Earth, it's also one of the oldest.

- STEPHANIE PAPPAS

The world's largest organism may have been growing for 80,000 years

New research, which is not yet peer-reviewed, has found that the aspen, which reproduces clonally through shoots called ramets, is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. The oldest non-clonal organism on Earth is Methusalah, a bristlecone pine in eastern California that is 4,856 years old. The age estimate for Pando is based on the mutation rate over time in the aspen's genome.

Cette histoire est tirée de l'édition Issue 198 de How It Works UK.

Abonnez-vous à Magzter GOLD pour accéder à des milliers d'histoires premium sélectionnées et à plus de 9 000 magazines et journaux.

Déjà abonné ? Se connecter

PLUS D'HISTOIRES DE How It Works UK

Tout voir

How It Works UK

MAKING ICE IN THE DESERT

This genius ancient Persian technique kept ice frozen in sweltering conditions

2 mins

Issue 216

How It Works UK

ROBERT H.GODDARD

This physics professor defied the doubters and proved that rocket engines could work in outer space

2 mins

Issue 216

How It Works UK

With continued continental shift, what will Earth look like in 200 million years?

Over the next 250 million years, scientists predict that our planet's continents will converge and form a new supercontinent dubbed 'Pangaea Ultima', echoing the supercontinent Pangaea that existed 250 million years ago.

1 min

Issue 216