Q & A
About
What is Pando?
Pando is the world’s largest tree.
How did we discover Pando?
Pando was first observed in 1976, when Aspen Ecologists Burton Barnes and Jerry Kemperman noticed the outline of the tree as they worked in Pando’s home land. It is important to know, Pando hid in plain sight for thousands of years as the basin has played host to human activity for thousands of years.
Source: Research paper describing a large aspen clone (later named Pando) in Fishlake Basin
Where is the Pando Tree?
Pando is in Fishlake National Forest in Utah south central Utah.
Size
What does the word "Pando" mean and why would someone name a tree that?
The word “pando”, is Latin for “I spread”. The aspen tree was given the nickname “Pando” by scientist Michael Grant in a 1992 article in Discover Magazine because of how it “spreads out” across 106 acres. Although Grant was not the one to discover the tree, most found the name creative and appropriate, so the name stuck.
Source: Article where the giant tree was named
How big is Pando?
Pando spans 106-acres and weighs over13.2 Million Pounds.
I thought the General Sherman Tree, a Redwood, was the largest tree?
No. Redwoods are the tallest growing trees and can be quite heavy. Pando weighs more than the largest redwood and covers over 100 times the land mass.
What makes Pando the largest tree?
Multiple measurements.
- Pando is the largest Tree by weight: 13.2 Million Pounds (3-5 times the weight of largest Redwood trees measured).
- Pando is the largest Tree by species. Pando is the largest aspen tree (Populus Tremuloides).
- Pando is the largest Tree by land mass. Pando spans 106 acres, larger than any other tree.
No other tree is larger than Pando in any of the ways above, while Pando is this large in all three ways.
How do we know Pando is the worlds largest tree?
Genetic Testing.
Between 2006 and 2008 researchers from the US Forest Service worked with independent researchers who gathered materials for genetic testing and proved Pando was a single tree in 2008.
Source:* Read the paper that proved Pando’s size.
Longevity
How old is Pando?
Between 9,000 and 12,000 years old.
But I heard Pando is 80,000 year old...?
We know that Pando cannot be older than 9,000 to 12,000 years old because glaciers in the area would have made the area too cold and inhospitable for the tree.
Biology
What species of tree is the Pando, the world's largest tree?
Pando is an aspen tree, species Populus temuloides.
Does Pando have one trunk, like a tree in my yard?
No. Pando is made up of over 40,000 branches that at first glance, look like individual tree trunks, but are in fact genetically identical parts of a single tree connected by a massive root system.
I've often heard Pando is a "clone" tree? What does that mean?
When we say Pando is a “clone” tree, it simply means that Pando reproduces by self-replicating. That is, each new part is genetically identical to the next.
Because Pando is a clone, does that mean it is not a single tree?
No. Pando still behaves like a single tree working to gather and distribute energy, reproduce and manage defenses just as one tree does. It just does this work on a much larger scale.
Since Pando is a clone, does that mean it is not the "World's Largest Tree"?
No. Many trees reproduce by self-replicating, including Redwoods.
Is it better to think about and treat Pando as a Single Tree or, as a Clone?
Actually Both. In many ways, work to understand and protect the tree, requires us to think of Pando as a single tree or single subject. Conversely, scientists tend to focus on the fact Pando is a clone, because there are some things about clone trees that can be studied differently.
