Utah's Ancient Pando: Earth's Oldest Living Organism?
Pando, a massive quaking aspen in Utah, is potentially one of the oldest and largest organisms on Earth, with new research suggesting it could be between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. This clonal organism, consisting of around 47,000 stems connected by a vast root system, has shown remarkable resilience to environmental changes over millennia. The study, which is not yet peer-reviewed, highlights Pando's genetic stability and suggests its age could provide insights into plant resilience and biology. Efforts to protect Pando from grazing have led to signs of its recovery.
