A species of plant discovered in 1961 by a student from “Babeş-Bolyai” University could date back to the time of mammoths and Neanderthals

A species of plant discovered in 1961 by a student of “Babeş-Bolyai” University (UBB) from Cluj-Napoca. It is considered extremely rare. It could be the oldest plant on Earth.

The name of the plant is “Andryala laevitomentosa”, an endemic species. “Andryala laevitomentosa is one of the rarest plants in the world, with only five small populations distributed over a 1.8 km mountain ridge in the Eastern Carpathians (Bistriței Mountains)”.

According to the statement issued by universityan international team of researchers made an incredible discovery in the Eastern Carpathians in Romania.

„The study shows the existence of clones for more than 60,000 years, living in the same place, despite the great climate changes of the last millennium”, the statement reads.

The plant produces almost no viable seeds, surviving instead by vegetative reproduction. It reproduces by shoots, which allowed it to form clones that survived tens of thousands of years in extreme climatic conditions, including the Pleistocene glaciations.

„Only 11 distinct genetic individuals have been identified, but the longevity and persistence of these clones is incredible. Therefore, the oldest ‘clone’ would represent one of the oldest, if not the oldest known individual in the plant world, showing a remarkable ability to adapt and survive these organisms in the face of environmental changes.“, explained Professor Dr. Mihai Pușcaș (Faculty of Biology and Geology, Al. Borza Botanical Garden of UBB), member of the research team.

The loss of any of these clones would be equivalent to the disappearance of an organism that has survived since the last ice age, the statement also conveys.

ok Royal Botanic Gardens, Andryala is a genus of plants in the Asteraceae family, order Asterales and found in Algeria, Azores, Balearic Islands, Canary Islands, Chad, Corsica, East Aegean Islands, France, Greece, Italy, Kriti, Lebanon- Syria, Libya, Madeira, Morocco, Portugal, Romania, Sardegna, Sicily, Spain, Tunisia and Turkey. It was introduced in Austria, Germany, Great Britain and Poland.

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