Menu
Home
People
Places
Arts
History
Plants & Animals
Science
Life & Culture
Technology
Reference.org
Clonal colony
open-in-new
<h2 id="methods-of-establishment">Methods of establishment</h2> <p>With most <a href="/facts/Woody_plant/xXCI9yys">woody plants</a>, clonal colonies arise by wide-ranging <a href="/facts/Root/x2U60Gdm">roots</a> that at intervals send up new <a href="/facts/Shoot_(botany)/ML2z0pru">shoots</a>, termed <a href="/facts/Basal_shoot/4F4ekjaQ">suckers</a>. <a href="/facts/Tree/HVVn3srN">Trees</a> and <a href="/facts/Shrub/X1gKVxL5">shrubs</a> with <a href="/facts/Branch/byMv8JP3">branches</a> that may tend to bend and rest on the ground, or which possess the ability to form <a href="/facts/Aerial_root/S0kvfMvo">aerial roots</a> can form colonies via <a href="/facts/Layering/VU1ancxM">layering</a>, or aerial rooting, e. g. <a href="/facts/Willow/F66Xvslm">willow</a>, <a href="/facts/Blackberry/MVD1DHFR">blackberry</a>, <a href="/facts/Ficus/70M2tmEB">fig</a>, and <a href="/facts/Banyan/q3qLlmQ6">banyan</a>. Some <a href="/facts/Vine/3nVRIAws">vines</a> naturally form <a href="/facts/Adventitious/QG8xICDa">adventitious</a> roots on their <a href="/facts/Plant_stem/QlQWSzV4">stems</a> that take root in the soil when the stems contact the ground, e.g. <a href="/facts/Hedera/BFAodzTm">ivy</a> and <a href="/facts/Trumpet_vine/P3xSLobx">trumpet vine</a>. With other vines, rooting of the stem where nodes come into contact with soil may establish a clonal colony, e.g. <a href="/facts/Wisteria/mCU82M3t">Wisteria</a>. <a href="/facts/Fern/e6Cngdyo">Ferns</a> and many <a href="/facts/Herbaceous/u6myDhE2">herbaceous</a> <a href="/facts/Flowering_plant/E5eGYIvY">flowering plants</a> often form clonal colonies via horizontal underground stems termed <a href="/facts/Rhizome/wWDKJrSf">rhizomes</a>, e.g. ostrich fern <i><a href="/facts/Matteuccia_struthiopteris/GubI60JN">Matteuccia struthiopteris</a></i> and <a href="/facts/Goldenrod/YfRCyJD8">goldenrod</a>. A number of herbaceous flowering plants form clonal colonies via horizontal surface stems termed <a href="/facts/Stolon/dNDj2H9p">stolons</a>, or runners; e.g. <a href="/facts/Strawberry/M4oa6zJ9">strawberry</a> and many <a href="/facts/Grass/q2CRK8q0">grasses</a>. Non-woody plants with underground <a href="/facts/Storage_organ/FTXfMqAt">storage organs</a> such as <a href="/facts/Bulb/YbycDwS7">bulbs</a> and <a href="/facts/Corm/vDlWanct">corms</a> can also form colonies, e.g. <i><a href="/facts/Narcissus_(genus)/1d2bmeJ5">Narcissus</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Crocus/C04GJYj7">Crocus</a></i>. A few plant species can form colonies via adventitious <a href="/facts/Plantlet/hpkALPXe">plantlets</a> that form on leaves, e.g. <i><a href="/facts/Kalanchoe_daigremontiana/ACGYUDBq">Kalanchoe daigremontiana</a></i> and <i><a href="/facts/Tolmiea_menziesii/JrKRNLX8">Tolmiea menziesii</a></i>. A few plant species can form colonies via asexual seeds, termed <a href="/facts/Apomixis/LVzVnGua">apomixis</a>, e.g. <a href="/facts/Dandelion/VlPP0mTn">dandelion</a>. </p> <h2 id="record-colonies">Record colonies</h2> <p>The only known natural example of <a href="/facts/King%27s_Lomatia/51QPYAEt">King's Lomatia</a> (<i>Lomatia tasmanica</i>) found growing in the wild is a clonal colony in <a href="/facts/Tasmania/q3dubPTt">Tasmania</a> estimated to be 43,600 years old.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:1" href="#fn:1"><sup>1</sup></a> </p><p>A group of 47,000 <a href="/facts/Quaking_Aspen/0EoCdofR">Quaking Aspen</a> (<i>Populus tremuloides</i>) trees (nicknamed "<a href="/facts/Pando_(tree)/66HzpvFs">Pando</a>") in the <a href="/facts/Wasatch_Mountains/IhVBlrFg">Wasatch Mountains</a>, <a href="/facts/Utah/te7zUyBX">Utah</a>, United States, has been shown to be a single clone connected by the root system. It is sometimes considered the world's <a href="/facts/Largest_organism/F3HjLlq7">largest organism</a> by <a href="/facts/Mass/HHdc8XmF">mass</a>, covering 106 acres (43 ha), and also as among the world's oldest living organisms, at an estimated 14,000 years old.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:2" href="#fn:2"><sup>2</sup></a> </p><p>Another possible candidate for <a href="/facts/List_of_long-living_organisms/DQatWWtE">oldest organism</a> on <a href="/facts/Earth/HLLmDfj0">earth</a> is an underwater meadow of the <a href="/facts/Marine_botany/CJaERTLm">marine plant</a> <i><a href="/facts/Posidonia_oceanica/6YCd9fbj">Posidonia oceanica</a></i> in the <a href="/facts/Mediterranean_Sea/Vr2pzVbM">Mediterranean Sea</a>, which could be up to 100,000 years of age.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:3" href="#fn:3"><sup>3</sup></a> </p> <h2 id="examples">Examples</h2> <p>When woody plants form clonal colonies, they often remain connected through the root system, sharing roots, water and <a href="/facts/Plant_nutrition/hXWLy7Sc">mineral nutrients</a>. A few non-vining, woody plants that form clonal colonies are <a href="/facts/Bigelow_oak/LUo3hmJF">Bigelow oak</a> (<i>Quercus sinuata</i> var. <i>breviloba</i>),<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:4" href="#fn:4"><sup>4</sup></a> <a href="/facts/Quaking_aspen/0EoCdofR">quaking aspen</a> (<i>Populus tremuloides</i>), <a href="/facts/Bayberry/IRgSoqUS">bayberry</a> (<i>Myrica pensylvanica</i>), <a href="/facts/Black_locust/IYlECUoF">black locust</a> (<i>Robinia pseudoacacia</i>), <a href="/facts/Creosote_bush/zfsJf5pg">creosote bush</a> (<i>Larrea tridentata</i>), <a href="/facts/Staphylea/rFsqNDvb">bladdernut</a>, <a href="/facts/Blueberry/2xtgLU6Y">blueberry</a> (<i>Vaccinium</i>), <a href="/facts/Devil%27s_club/Q8YCkVRa">devil's club</a> (<i>Oplopanax horridus</i>), <a href="/facts/Forsythia/08SBqtsX">forsythia</a>, <a href="/facts/Hazelnut/HH8ac3Qm">hazelnut</a> (<i>Corylus</i>), <a href="/facts/Honey_locust/aYIyURk6">honey locust</a> (<i>Gleditsia triacanthos</i>), <a href="/facts/Kentucky_coffeetree/XhLUg2Vv">Kentucky coffeetree</a> (<i>Gymnocladus dioicus</i>), <a href="/facts/Kerria_(plant)/C5CW7ISK">kerria</a> (<i>Kerria japonica</i>), <a href="/facts/Asimina_triloba/cz65QRxF">pawpaw</a> (<i>Asimina triloba</i>), <a href="/facts/Populus/SSgurBpF">poplars</a> (<i>Populus</i>), <a href="/facts/Sassafras/u3SbW7GG">sassafras</a> (<i>Sassafras albidum</i>), <a href="/facts/Sumac/ABdDzFAD">sumac</a> (<i>Rhus</i>), sweetgum (<i><a href="/facts/Liquidambar_styraciflua/vLfcbxd9">Liquidambar styraciflua</a></i>), and <a href="/facts/Sweetshrub/w36WL3ch">sweetshrub</a> (<i>Calycanthus floridus</i>). </p> <h2 id="see-also">See also</h2> <ul><li><a href="/facts/King_Clone/SGFT17sy">King Clone</a></li> <li><a href="/facts/Tumour_heterogeneity/UFrPSNLG">Tumour heterogeneity</a></li></ul> <h2 id="further-reading">Further reading</h2> Wikimedia Commons has media related to Clonal colony. <ul><li>Cook, R. E. (1983). "Clonal plant populations". <i><a href="/facts/American_Scientist/M40emvcm">American Scientist</a></i>. 71 (3): 244–253. <a href="/facts/Bibcode_(identifier)/9HtdQSGB">Bibcode</a>:<a href="https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/1983AmSci..71..244C">1983AmSci..71..244C</a>.</li> <li>Kricher, J. C., & Morrison, G. (1988). <i>A Field Guide to Eastern Forests</i>, pp. 19–20. Peterson Field Guide Series. <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 0-395-35346-7.</li></ul> <h2 id="references">References</h2> <ol> <li id="fn:1"><p>"Tasmanian bush could be oldest living organism". Discovery Channel. Archived from the original on 2006-07-23. Retrieved 2008-05-07. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20060723041627/http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1996/10/21/01.asp" target="_blank">https://web.archive.org/web/20060723041627/http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1996/10/21/01.asp</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:2"><p>Mock, K. E.; Rowe, C. A.; Hooten, M. B.; Dewoody, J.; Hipkins, V. D. (November 2008). "Clonal dynamics in western North American aspen ( Populus tremuloides )". Molecular Ecology. 17 (22): 4827–4844. Bibcode:2008MolEc..17.4827M. doi:10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03963.x. PMID 19140975. S2CID 1425039. <a href="/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)" target="_blank">/wiki/Bibcode_(identifier)</a> <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:3"><p>"Ibiza's Monster Marine Plant". Ibiza Spotlight. Retrieved 2008-05-07. <a href="http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/node/76071" target="_blank">http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/node/76071</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> <li id="fn:4"><p>Lance, Ron (2004). Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States: A Winter Guide. University of Georgia Press. ISBN 978-0-8203-2524-8. <a href="978-0-8203-2524-8" target="_blank">978-0-8203-2524-8</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></p></li> </ol>