Although seagrass may not appear to be noteworthy, one variety of seaweed has just been named the world’s largest known plant. A team of researchers discovered a 4,500-year-old field of seagrass off the coast of Australia, as reported in the Proceedings of the Royal Society B. This Posidonia australis field is really made up of only one plant that sprouted from a single seed.
Posidonia australis, often known as Poseidon’s ribbon, is a variety of seaweed found off Australia’s coast. Researchers interested in seaweed collected samples from several locations in Shark’s Bay, some 500 miles north of Perth. They intended to investigate the many plants in the area, but their genetic testing produced an unexpected result. “The outcome astounded us: it was all one plant,” the scientists stated. In reality, all of their samples were clones that had the whole genome of the parent grass.
Posidonia australis, often known as Poseidon’s ribbon, is a variety of seaweed found off Australia’s coast. Researchers interested in seaweed collected samples from several locations in Shark’s Bay, some 500 miles north of Perth. They intended to investigate the many plants in the area, but their genetic testing produced an unexpected result. “The outcome astounded us: it was all one plant,” the scientists stated. In reality, all of their samples were clones that had the whole genome of the parent grass.
From a single seed, these clones grew at a rate of 13.7 inches per year for an estimated 4,500 years. This is comparable to how grass grows on “land.” “It looks to be incredibly durable, enduring a wide variety of temperatures and salinities, as well as severe high light circumstances, which would generally be highly stressful for most plants,” one of the researchers, Dr. Elizabeth Sinclair, told the BBC. It currently encompasses 77 square kilometers of the bay in one spectacular underwater lawn. The scientific team is preparing to conduct more experiments to understand more about this highly rare plant.
A team of experts discovered a 4,500-year-old expanse of seagrass off the coast of Australia, the world’s largest plant.
The study team is preparing to conduct more experiments to understand more about this incredibly unique, world’s biggest plant.
h/t: [BBC, Smithsonian Magazine]
Leave a Reply