Posidonia australis (The ribbon weed) : World’s Largest Plant
The world’s largest plant has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia: a seagrass 180 km in length.
- The ribbon weed, or Posidonia australis, has been discovered in Shark Bay by a group of researchers from Flinders University and The University of Western Australia.
- These researchers have also found that the plant is 4,500 years old, is sterile, has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants, and has managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the shallow Shark Bay.
- The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares. The second largest plant, is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
- The largest tree in India, the Great Banyan in Howrah’s Botanical Garden, covers 1.41 hectares.
