Pando Abstract 5

by Donna Kennedy

Title

Pando Abstract 5

Artist

Donna Kennedy

Medium

Photograph - Photographs

Description

Original Fine Art Photography by Donna Kennedy...No Editing
Photographed in Fishlake National Forest, Utah..(ICM) Intentional Camera Movement

The Trembling Giant, or Pando, is an enormous grove of quaking aspens that take the “forest as a single organism” metaphor and literalizes it: the grove really is a single organism. Each of the approximately 47,000 or so trees in the grove is genetically identical and all the trees share a single root system. While many trees spread through flowering and sexual reproduction, quaking aspens usually reproduce asexually, by sprouting new trees from the expansive lateral root of the parent. The individual trees aren’t individuals but stems of a massive single clone, and this clone is truly massive. Pando is a Latin word that translates as “I spread.”

Pando is believed to be the largest, most dense organism ever found at nearly 13 million pounds, the clone spreads over 106 acres. The exact age of the clone and its root system is difficult to calculate, but it is estimated to have started at the end of the last ice age. Some of the trees are over 130 years old. It was first recognized by researchers in the 1970s and more recently proven by geneticists. Its massive size, weight, and prehistoric age have caused worldwide fame. Visitors from many states, as well as other nations have travelled to central Utah to see and experience Pando, especially during the fall season when the leaves turn to yellow and orange. In 2006 the U.S. Postal Service honored the Pando Clone as one of the “40 Wonders of America” with a stamp in its commemoration.

Thank you to the Administrators that Featured this photo in the following Groups:
-Abstract Moods
-I Smile For You Today In Collage Art
-Lady Photographers and Artists
-World Landscape Lovers of Art
-Camera Art

Uploaded

October 21st, 2018

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