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World’s biggest plant discovered off Australian coast

Posidonia: World's biggest plant discovered off Australian coast_4.1

The world’s largest living plant has been identified in the shallow waters off the coast of Western Australia. The sprawling seagrass, a marine flowering plant known as Posidonia australis, stretches for more than 112 miles (180 kilometers) in Shark Bay, a wilderness area protected as a World Heritage site.

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Key points:

  • Using genetic testing, scientists have determined a large underwater meadow in Western Australia is in fact one plant. It is believed to have spread from a single seed over at least 4,500 years. The seagrass covers about 200 sq km.
  • The plant is so large because it clones itself, creating genetically identical offshoots. This process is a way of reproducing that is rare in the animal kingdom although it happens in certain environmental conditions and occurs more often among some plants, fungi and bacteria.

Important takeaways for all competitive exams:

  • Australia Prime minister: Anthony Albanese;
  • Australia Capital: Canberra;
  • Australia Currency: Australian dollar.
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