The largest plant in the world was discovered in Australia, a seagrass, which is 4500 years old and covers an area of almost 200 square km.

This discovery was accidentally made in Shark Bay, 800 km north of Perth. From this place also come some of the most popular Australian marine fish species such as Scribble Angel Chaetodontoplus doublayi, Personifer Angel Chaetodontoplus personifer, 3-Stripe Longnose butterfly Chelmon marginalis, and probably the most intriguing fish from these seagrass beds, the Ribbon/Weedy Pipefish Haliichthys taeniophorus. This massive seagrass area is also home to vast quantities of Fairy wrass. 

TMC also receives many popular corals species in the hobby from this area such as Euphyllia, Favia, Goniopora, Mushrooms, and Polyps.

To understand the genetic diversity of this giant seagrass, researchers from the University of Western Australia examined 18,000 genetic markers of the plant to create a fingerprint of each sample and the results were surprising: "The answer blew us away - there was just one!" said Jane Edgeloe, the study's lead author.

According to scientists, the plant grows 35cm per year, estimating that currently, due to its size, the plant is 4500 years old.

The plant is also extremely resistant, withstanding large variations in temperature, salinity, and high luminosity. A true wonder of nature!

Article Source: BBC News