Scientists in Australia have discovered what they say is the largest living plant on Earth and it dates back thousands of years. They found ancient seagrass off the country’s west coast called the Shark Bay. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site located almost 800 kilometres north of the city Perth.
Scientists say the massive seagrass is at least 4,500 years old and is 200 square kilometres in size. The details of the study were recently published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B. The plant came from one seed that has cloned itself for thousands of years.
Scientists used 18,000 genetic markers to sample the grass and understand how diverse it was. Jane Edgeloe, A University of Western Australia student researcher said “THe answer blew us away — there was just one, … That’s it, just one plant has expanded over 180 kilometres in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on Earth.”
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