Greetings, readers, and welcome back to Wednesday Words. Do you know where the largest tree in the world is located? It’s in Utah. A friend of mine, Carolyn, told me recently about this remarkable tree that, after it was discovered, was named The Pando Tree.
Pando is the largest tree on earth. From above ground, they say, there appears to be many trees growing out of the earth, but really they make up just one tree. This blog post contains some info from the following website about Pando.
The Pando Tree | A Guide to All Things Pando
The cited material appears in quotes.
Where is the Pando Tree?
“Pando is in Fishlake National Forest in south central Utah.”
How big is Pando?
“Pando spans 106-acres and weighs over 13.2 million pounds.”
How old is Pando?
“Based on geologic records and charcoal studies, Pando is believed to have been self-replicating at least 9,000 years.”
What does “Pando” mean?
On the website, we find out:
“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
Why Pando fascinates me
I have not seen the Pando Tree for myself out there in Utah, but from the photos on that website above, it makes me think it’s sort of an optical illusion: you think you’re looking at many trees, but really it’s just one.
So thank you, Carolyn, for telling me of your interest in Pando and introducing me to the website that tells us all about it.
Thanks for reading!
Best wishes from your writer on the wing,
Charlene
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