Christopher Zinn in Sydney
THE oldest living plant in the world – a self-propagating Tasmanian holly-like bush – has been estimated by scientists to be more than 43 000 years old.
Chief botanist at the Tasmanian parks and wildlife service Stephen Harris said that Lomatia tasmanica, whose common name is King’s Holly, was 30 000 years older than the previous contender for the title, an American huckleberry.
The plant was discovered in a fragment of rain forest in Tasmania’s wild south-west more than 50 years ago, though its great age was not initially suspected.
The find is one of the most exciting since the huge Wollemi Pine, thought to be extinct, was found in canyons near Sydney in 1995.
The bush, which has glossy, pointed leaves and resembles holly, does not produce seeds but sheds “cuttings” that grow into clones. The plant appears to consist of hundreds of individual shrubs – genetically the same plant.
“When people think of a 43 000-year-old plant they probably visualise something gnarled and twisted; this just looks like an undershrub in the forest,” said Harris.
The plant’s age was established by comparing it with identical fossilised remains on the forest floor, which had been carbon-dated as 43 000 years old. There are plans to reproduce the bushes for sale to gardeners around the world.
But the priority is to conserve the plant’s environment.
ENDS