{"id":6300,"date":"2022-06-05T15:45:19","date_gmt":"2022-06-05T15:45:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/worlds-biggest-plant-discovered-off-australian-coast"},"modified":"2022-06-05T15:45:19","modified_gmt":"2022-06-05T15:45:19","slug":"worlds-biggest-plant-discovered-off-australian-coast","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/worlds-biggest-plant-discovered-off-australian-coast","title":{"rendered":"World\u2019s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast"},"content":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. <\/strong><\/span>The largest known plant on Earth \u2013 a seagrass roughly three times the size of Manhattan \u2013 has been discovered off the coast of Australia.<\/p>\n

Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant.<\/p>\n

It is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years.<\/p>\n

The seagrass covers about 200 sq km (77 sq miles), researchers from the University of Western Australia said.<\/p>\n

The team stumbled upon the discovery by accident at Shark Bay, about 800km north of Perth.<\/p>\n

They had set out to understand the genetic diversity of the species \u2013 also known as ribbon weed \u2013 which is commonly found along parts of Australia\u2019s coast.<\/p>\n

Researchers collected shoots from across the bay and examined 18,000 genetic markers to create a \u201cfingerprint\u201d from each sample.<\/p>\n

They had aimed to discover how many plants made up the meadow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe answer blew us away \u2013 there was just one!\u201d said Jane Edgeloe, the study\u2019s lead author.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s it, just one plant has expanded over 180km in Shark Bay, making it the largest known plant on Earth.\u201d<\/p>\n

The plant is also remarkable for its hardiness, having grown in locations across the bay with wildly variable conditions.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt appears to be really resilient, experiencing a wide range of temperatures and salinities plus extreme high light conditions, which together would typically be highly stressful for most plants,\u201d said Dr Elizabeth Sinclair, one of the researchers.<\/p>\n

The species generally grows like a lawn at a rate of up to 35cm a year. This is how researchers estimated it has taken 4,500 years to sprawl to its current size.<\/p>\n

The research has been published in the journal Proceedings of the Royal Society B.<\/p>\n

For More News And Analysis About Sierra-Leone<\/a> Follow Africa-Press<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. The largest known plant on Earth \u2013 a seagrass roughly three times the size of Manhattan \u2013 has been discovered off the coast of Australia. Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant. It is believed to have spread from a single […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":84,"featured_media":6299,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2,8,9],"tags":[291,293,292],"class_list":["post-6300","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-all-news","category-homepage-english","category-miscellaneous","tag-africa-press","tag-africa-press-sierra-leone","tag-sierra-leone"],"yoast_head":"\nWorld\u2019s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast - Sierra Leone<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.africa-press.net\/sierra-leone\/all-news\/worlds-biggest-plant-discovered-off-australian-coast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"World\u2019s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Africa-Press – Sierra-Leone. 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