Pando - An Aspen Miracle

          (Editor's Apology: Someone recently pointed out to me that it was not possible to add     comments to this blog. I've adjusted my settings and comments should be available now.)

           
           Without reaching for an encyclopedia or record book, what is the largest, most astounding species of plant you’ve ever heard of? Is it the towering Saguaro Cactus of Arizona that can grow to be 45 feet tall? Or the Giant Water Lily of the Amazon, a lily pad so big a child can use it for a raft?

            Oh! I betcha I know! Hands down guaranteed it’s the famous Sequoia Redwood Cedars of California, right?

            Wrong.

            All of these are beautifully impressive plants, to be certain, more than worthy of a good look.

            But the trophy for the biggest and heaviest and most astounding plan known to exist on Earth goes to – Pando of Fish Lake, Utah! A humble Trembling Aspen.

            Well, it’s not AN aspen, exactly.

            Pando covers about 106 acres, about the size of 100 football fields, and weighs in at an estimated 6,600 tons! It’s the size of your average small town, yet it is one, single, living organism.

            Scientists describe Pando as a “clonal colony”. The name is Latin and it means “I spread”. And so it does. It’s a massive aspen root, developed into a tangled labyrinth, spread out beneath the soil for a large distance, breaking through the surface in a grove of about 40,000 stems, which reach for the sunlight and nourish the root network below. The stems are what we know as aspen trees. From a distance, the colony looks like little more than a regular aspen forest, green and lush in the summer, frosted over in the winter, and all ablaze in the autumn. A person would never guess that all those peaceful trees are merely giant shoots from a massive underground plant.

            All the shoots share DNA because they’re all part of the same organism. In fact, DNA evidence has even proven that Pando is a male. And he doesn’t need a wife. When Pando wants to reproduce, he simply stretches out a new root and then shoves the tip above the soil, creating a new stem. This is known as “suckering”.

            Pando also has the distinction of being the oldest living organism on earth as scientists place his age at about 80,000 years. This means he’s lived through major climatic changes, including at least one ice age. As well, he’s lived through countless winters, untold storms, and the ravages of human civilization. He’s watched the Natives thrive and the European colonists settle. He’s even been scorched by many blistering forest fires. Yet here Pando remains, still flourishing. Tough guy!

            Studies continue to be made and questions to be asked, and it may turn out that, one day, we’ll find a colony even older or bigger than Pando. But it won’t matter. He’ll remain one of Mother Nature's most incredible accomplishments.

            But will he continue? In recent years, scientists have been alarmed to see hints of problems with Pando’s well-being. He’s in a protected park, but thanks to drought and beetles, he seems to be suffering. Some scientists have reported a lack of young trees in the colony, suggesting reproduction has become limited. Debate has been thrown about as to what, if anything, can be done. Or will Pando become an amazing memory.

            Pando’s not alone, however. There have been many other colonies of clonal aspen identified. Pando’s just the one that’s been the most intensely studied.

            So, the next time you see a grove of aspen trembling by a lake or on a hill, stop a minute and take another look. You may just be looking at more than you thought.