According to statistics, there are currently up to 320,000 species of plants in the world. Most of them belong to the group of multicellular plants, which use solar energy for photosynthesis. Among the vast and diverse plant species, experts have identified some of the largest in the world in terms of size, area, height, etc. Let’s explore in detail the top five largest plant species in the world in the following article!
Explore five of the world’s largest plant species that will leave you amazed.
Plants are the foundation of most ecosystems in the world today and are considered extremely important for millions of animal species. Plant species often come in different sizes, from small flowers to giant trees. But how big can they actually grow? Let’s take a look at the top five largest plant species in the world below!
1. Seagrass
At the top of the list is seagrass, which has recently been recognized as the largest plant species in the world. Through genetic testing, scientists have determined that a large seagrass bed off the coast of Western Australia is actually a single plant.
This seagrass species in Australia covers a huge area of up to 77 square miles. As of May 2022, this seagrass species off the coast of Australia has not been officially recognized as the largest plant species in the world. However, shortly after that, it was determined to be the largest in the world due to its incredible rapid growth.
Seagrass is mainly found in Shark Bay, Australia. Experts believe that this giant plant species took about 4,500 years to reach its current enormous size.
More specifically, seagrass is typically found at depths ranging from 3 ft 3 inches to 49 ft 3 inches in the southern waters of Australia. This plant species is recognized by its ribbon-like shape, resembling a bright green ribbon.
The ability to self-replicate is believed to be the reason why this giant grass species can easily recover and become the largest plant in the world since the heat waves in 2010 and 2011 that seriously affected many seagrass meadows.
2. Redwood Tree (Hyperion)
The Redwood tree, scientifically known as Hyperion, is a giant species of plant first discovered in the Redwood National Park in California, USA. The tallest Redwood tree currently stands at a height of 115.61m. With this impressive height, the Redwood tTree is considered taller than both the Big Ben clock tower (UK) and the Statue of Liberty (USA).
This species of redwood tree has been identified as a Sequoia sempervirens, with a height of 115.5m and an estimated trunk diameter of up to 9m. With this towering height, the redwood tree has achieved the world record for the tallest tree, surpassing the previous record held by the Stratosphere tree by approximately 3m.
3. General Sherman Tree
The General Sherman tree is a species of coniferous tree, also known as giant sequoia or Sierra redwood, holding the world record for the largest tree by volume at approximately 1500 cubic meters. This massive General Sherman tree was actually born from a tiny seed, with a size that is equivalent to a grain of rice.
According to statistics from 1975, just the trunk of the General Sherman tree contained about 53,000 cubic feet of wood, which is estimated to be around 1,500 cubic meters. This massive amount of wood is equivalent to harvesting an entire large corner of a forest.
4. Albino Tree
The albino tree in the world is a strange variant of the “red fir tree”, belonging to the redwood family in California, USA. There are only 25 to 60 individuals of this plant species with such a strange albino in the world.
The reason explained by scientists is that these giant trees do not contain chlorophyll, which leads to the phenomenon of having a pale white color instead of the typical green color of other conifers.
This peculiar plant species has a genome of up to 32 billion base pairs and each of its chromosomes has up to 6 different copies. Without chlorophyll, it is unable to photosynthesize and create energy from sunlight.
5. The oldest Hazelnut Tree in the world
The oldest hazelnut tree in the world grows on the eastern slope of the lush Etna volcano in Sicily, Italy. Experts estimate that this ancient hazelnut tree is between 2,000 and 4,000 years old and is the largest and oldest known hazelnut tree to date. According to statistics from 1780, the circumference of this ancient hazelnut tree was estimated to be around 58 meters.
The name of this giant plant comes from a legend that tells the story of a queen and 100 Aragon knights who took shelter under the ancient tree during a heavy rainstorm with fierce thunder and lightning in the Middle Ages. The ancient hazelnut tree at that time had become an effective “roof” to shelter all 101 people from the rain.
In summary, this article has provided information on the top five largest plants in the world that will amaze readers. It is hoped that this knowledge will be useful to readers. Please share this article widely with everyone to have more useful information!