An Aspen forest in Utah, Pando, is known as the world’s oldest living being.
Researchers have taken the DNA from ‘Pando’ — a vast forest made up of a single root system sprouting nearly 50,000 cloned quaking aspen trees in Utah and it seems to confirm that it is one of the oldest organisms on Earth.
The Latin name Pando means “I spread,” and the forest is one single living thing –– one one tree that has cloned itself tens of thousands of times. Pando consists of approximately 47,000 individual stems all connected by a single, vast root system.
Do those trees have eyes?
Aerial outline of Pando. (Lance Oditt/Friends of Pando)
Researchers sequenced hundreds of samples from the Populus tremuloides and found that it is between 16,000 and 80,000 years old. They were also able to track patterns of genetic variation spread throughout the tree, offering clues about how it has adapted and evolved over the course of its lifetime.
Located in central Utah on the Fishlake National Forest, Pando is approximately 1 mile southwest of Fish Lake on State Highway 25. Go on a road trip to see spots of nature, not cities. Your soul will thank you.
Author: Karin Kloosterman
Karin Kloosterman is an award-winning journalist, innovation strategist, and founder of Green Prophet, one of the Middle East’s pioneering sustainability platforms. She has ranked in the Top 10 of Verizon innovation competitions, participated in NASA-linked challenges, and spoken worldwide on climate, food security, and future resilience. With an IoT technology patent, features in Canada’s National Post, and leadership inside teams building next-generation agricultural and planetary systems — including Mars-farming concepts — Karin operates at the intersection of storytelling, science, and systems change. She doesn’t report on the future – she helps design it. Reach out directly to [email protected]
