Largest known plant in the world discovered

Context

Researchers have recently discovered the largest plant in the world.

About the Plant

• The plant is an ancient and incredibly resilient seagrass.
• It stretches across 180km.
• It  is at least 4,500 years old.
• The plant was discovered in Shark Bay in Western Australia, when researchers were trying to determine which plants should be collected for seagrass restoration.
• The plant is unique in that it is a polyploid, meaning the seedling contains 100% of the genome from each parent, rather than sharing the usual 50%.