21 October 2021
As the trees lose their leaves this autumn, consider this. There’s a tree in Utah that has lost its leaves at least 14,000 times.
Nicknamed Pando, it’s a quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) that’s 14,000(*) years old and the largest known aspen clone. All its trunks come from a single root covering 106 acres. At 6,600 tons its the heaviest known organism on Earth.
How did Pando do this? Learn more in this vintage blog: A 14,000 Year-Old Tree.
(*) Pando’s age is in dispute among scientists. It may be anywhere from 10,000 to 80,000 years old.
(photos from Wikimedia Commons; click on the captions to see the originals)
I just read that elk browse on the bark of the
Aspen since it contains chlorophyll.
Thank you. I like post that show extremes.