The world’s largest known plant has been discovered off the coast of Australia. The plant, believed to have spread from a single seed, covers an area the size of 20,000 football fields.
Using genetic testing, scientists have determined that a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is actually a single plant.
It is believed to have spread from a single seed for at least 4,500 years.
Researchers from the University of Western Australia announced that seaweed covers an area of about 200 square kilometers.
Set out to understand the genetic diversity of species commonly found off the coast of Australia (also known as strip grass), the team stumbled upon the discovery by chance in Shark Bay, about 800 kilometres north of Perth.
The researchers collected shoots across the bay and examined 18,000 genetic markers to create a “fingerprint” from each specimen.
Aiming to discover how many plants make up the meadow, the team saw that there was only one plant.
Jane Edgeloe, lead author of the study, said: “We were surprised by the answer. “Just one plant has expanded more than 180 km in Shark Bay, making it the largest plant known in the world.”
