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Witness History: The trembling giant

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31/03/2020 GMT

The trembling giant

BBC World Service - Witness History, The trembling giant

Could the biggest living organism on earth be a colony of quaking aspen trees?

Could the biggest living organism on earth be a colony of quaking aspen trees? How scientists proved that a forest in the west of the USA was actually one genetic entity.

Scientists believe that the biggest living organism on Earth is a fungus. But the heaviest organism, and the most massive organism, is a tree, or rather a giant colony of quaking aspen tree stems which has been growing across a hillside in the west of America for thousands of years. The colony - called Pando - was first discovered in the late 1960s. But it wasn't until many years later that scientists proved it was one genetic entity. Two of the scientists involved in researching Pando's story have been speaking to Louise Hidalgo about what they found out.

Photo: Quaking aspen trees (Populus tremuloides) in autumn colours (Credit: Science Photo Library)

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