Pando

[Parma]

Have any of you been to the Pando or Pando Clone near Fish Lake, Utah? Hwy 25 goes thru it.
It's the heaviest and one of the oldest living organism on Earth. 13,000,000 lbs. and at least 80,000 years old...and it's here in Utah!
I stumbled across it online last night and found it very fascinating.

http://www.fs.usda.gov/detail/fishlake/home/?cid=STELPRDB5393641

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree)

 

[Nick]

I knew of it, but I always thought it was a different patch a few miles northwest that you can see from Highway 24. I've driven through there tons of times but now it seems I better make the diversion to Fish Lake sometime. What an awesome tree.

 

[JulieKT]

It's about a 30-min drive from my house. It's actually not doing very well, sadly enough. A fence has been put up around it to protect the trees from grazing by cows, deer, and elk, because all the nibbling wasn't helping its health. I was just up there last fall but I didn't stop by the colony.

Here's a good, recent (July 2014) video about the clone from the local ranger district, including info on its decline.

 

[ogg]

Never heard of the Pando before. That is really interesting, thanks Parma. I may try to wiggle a visit to it into my summer vacation itinerary.

 

[Artemus]

I have known about it for some time. The largest living biomass on the planet. It is near the road and visible from space. Aspen trees procreate by spreading new growth from the root system. 99% of their procreation is done this way. Only 1% by seed. All groves you see, driving HWY 12 over Boulder Mtn for instance, are one plant to a large degree. That is why you see patches of all the same color in the fall. They are generally the same being for each color patch all spread underground. Pando's health is suffering as are many aspen groves in the Western US and overgrazing by cows and by an excess of wild ungulates nips the new Pando tree stems off at the surface. Tasty. Go PANDO!

There is a book I own and recommend that is solely about the natural history of the Populus tremuloides that I will go drum up if anyone is interested.

 

[slc_dan]

Pando is the reason that we changed our State Tree from a Blue Spruce , to the Aspen or -Populus tremuloides.

It was presented to our state legislature by a student, only a year or two ago.

 

[Artemus]

Pando!
http://goo.gl/uNN7wp





http://goo.gl/uNN7wp

 

[Bob]

Just another Aspen stand..... have to take their word for it that it's the largest interconnected........

 

[Artemus]

And I do, the stems have been genetically sampled. There might be bigger so maybe they should say "found thus far" just like they did about that last one - the moss.