What is the largest plant in the world? Which representatives of the flora have the largest foliage, flowers and fruits? I would like to talk about real champions in the plant environment in our article.
Tallest trees
What is the largest plant in the world according to height? Not so long ago, Australian eucalyptus were the absolute record holders here. However, these plants, which rushed to heaven to a height of about 150 meters, were completely exterminated. Therefore, the leader today is the American sequoia, which is closely approaching the above indicator.
Barrel record holder
The status of the largest plant in the world in terms of trunk volume today belongs to a giant sequoiadendron called General Sherman. This tree grows in the Sequoia National Park, located in the United States, in California.
It is worth noting that the "General Sherman" has a height of more than 83 meters. As for the volume of the trunk, this tree has as much as 1487 m³. According to calculations, the approximate mass of the plant is 1900 tons.
The General Sherman tree is the most massive and heavy living organism on the entire planet. However, before him there was another record holder. So, in the 40s of the last century, an evergreen sequoia called “Giant Crannell Creek” was cut down, which grew nearby the American city of Trinidad. The specified plant had a trunk volume that was approximately 25% higher than our record holder.
In 2006, the giant sequoia "General Sherman" suddenly lost an impressive part of the crown. The tree has lost the largest branch with a diameter of about two meters and a length of 30 meters. The nerds thought the tree was starting to die. As further studies have shown, in this way the plant only extended its life, freeing itself from the excess part that could damage the trunk under adverse weather conditions.
Every year, the General Sherman tree expands by about 1.5 centimeters. Accordingly, this indicates continued growth. As a result, the amount of wood added to the volume of the plant every year is enough to build a 5-6 room house.
Until recently, botanists considered the General Sherman sequoia to be the oldest tree on the planet, 2700 years old. However, the results of recent studies have shown that this plant has existed no more than two thousand years. In fact, the leader here is the spinous intermountain pine Mufasail, which grows in the highlands of North America. Her approximate age is equal to the figure of 4847 years.
Which plant has the largest fruits?
It is advisable to evaluate the size of the fruit according to several indicators, namely, dimensions and weight. If we talk about nuts, the Seychelles palm tree stands out as a real champion of botany. This island tree bears fruit with nuts, the diameter of which reaches about 45 centimeters, and weight can be more than 25 kilograms. Surprising is the fact that more than three dozen of these dimensional fruits are often concentrated on one palm.
To add to our list is also breadfruit. The mass of the fruits of this plant reaches about 40 kilograms. According to the parameter of magnitude, they are superior to the nuts of the Seychelles palm. So, breadfruit can reach a length of up to 90 centimeters. Their width at the same time is about 50 centimeters.
What is the plant with the largest fruits in the world? The absolute record here does not belong to the tree, but to the representative of the flora, which is classified as grass. This is an ordinary pumpkin. The fruits of the plant rest on the ground, which allows them to achieve unthinkable dimensions and mass. So, in the 70s of the last century, British farmers managed to grow a pumpkin, the weight of which was unthinkable 92.7 kg. It is easy to guess how impressive the size of such a fruit was.
Giant leaves
What is the largest leaf plant in the world? The championship according to this indicator belongs to the famous water lily of Victoria the Amazonian. This plant is widely distributed in South America and Jamaica. There is a water lily in reservoirs that have the smallest depth. The leaves of Victoria Amazonian are like giant saucers, the diameter of which can reach about 2 meters.
The largest flowers
The plant with the largest flowers in the world is Rafflesia Arnold. This unique representative of the flora leads a parasitic existence, obtaining the substances necessary for growth from tree stems. It is worth noting that rafflesia itself does not have a stem and leaves. She also lacks roots. In fact, the plant is a single flower in the form of widely spread lobes.
However, rafflesia is famous not only for its size, but also for its very specific aroma. Botanists note that the smell of a flower resembles the spirit that comes from rotting meat. This aroma becomes a kind of magnet for all kinds of insects. The latter fall into the flower bowl and create an additional nutrient medium for the plant.
The longest shoots in the sea
Not so long ago, Spanish oceanologists presented to the public a unique discovery. In the Mediterranean Sea, near the Balearic Islands, an oceanic posidonia plant was discovered. The shoots of this representative of the flora stretched along the bottom for an incredible eight kilometers. The presented plant is formed by erect short stems that are connected by accessory roots. Thus, a whole network of united shoots is formed, which occupy vast areas. Even despite such an unusual symbiosis of individual cuttings, Posidonia has every right to be considered the largest plant in the world.
Longest stems on land
The record holder according to the length of shoots on land is a lianoid palm. The name of the largest plant in the world, based on the indicator of the length of the stems, is widely known by the definition of rattan. The length of the vines here can reach up to 300 meters. The presented plant is found in the highlands of India. With such an impressive shoot length, the trunks of the lianoid palm have a diameter of not more than 10 cm. The rattan stalks have a creeping character. Vines connect separate trees and form an extensive network.
The largest crown
According to the size of the crown, the largest plants in the world are ficus. A unique feature of such trees is the ability to form a wide network of terrestrial rhizomes and layers suspended in the air. The record for the indicator of the dimensions of the crown at the moment belongs to the ficus called "The Great Banyan". The tree grows in the Indian Botanical Garden. The crown area of this unusual plant is as much as one and a half hectares.
