University of Western Australia scientists have discovered the world’s largest plant off the Australian coast — a seagrass meadow that has grown by repeatedly cloning itself.

Figure 1. A seagrass meadow in Australian coast.

Figure 1 shows that August 2019 photo provided by The University of Western Australia shows part of the Posidonia australis seagrass meadow in Australia's Shark Bay. [3]

According to a report released on Wednesday, June 1, 2022, Genetic analysis has revealed that the underwater fields of waving green seagrass are a single organism covering 70 square miles (180 square kilometers) through making copies of itself over 4,500 years. [1]

Scientists confirmed that the meadow was a single organism by sampling and comparing the DNA of seagrass shoots across the bed, wrote Jane Edgeloe, a study co-author and marine biologist at the University of Western Australia.

A variety of plants and some animals can reproduce asexually. There are disadvantages to being clones of a single organism — such as increased susceptibility to diseases — but “the process can create hopeful monsters'” by enabling rapid growth, the researchers wrote.

The scientists call the meadow of Poseidon's ribbon weed “the most widespread known clone on Earth," covering an area larger than Washington. [2]

Though the seagrass meadow is immense, it's vulnerable. A decade ago, the seagrass covered an additional seven square miles, but cyclones and rising ocean temperatures linked to climate change have recently killed almost a tenth of the ancient seagrass bed.

References:

1. https://jamaica.loopnews.com/content/worlds-largest-plant-vast-seagrass-meadow-australia
2. https://news.abplive.com/news/world/world-s-largest-plant-is-a-vast-seagrass-meadow-in-australia-1535084
3. https://www.usnews.com/news/world/articles/2022-06-01/worlds-largest-plant-is-a-vast-seagrass-meadow-in-australia

Cite this article:

Sri Vasagi K (2022), World’s Largest Plant of the Australian Coast, AnaTechMaz, pp.119