One of the oldest living things on planet Earth is actually the only specimen of its species left. It’s related to the King’s holly, and it’s a 43,000-year-old shrub that apparently grows through cloning.
That’s not the only one — I only found out about it through this story, which details the finding of a 13,000-year-old bush, which does the same. And that’s where I found this quote:
By repeatedly cloning itself, the Palmer’s oak has lived past the separation of Britain from continental Europe, the demise of the mammoths and saber-toothed cats, and the birth of human agriculture. It is among the oldest plants in existence, first sprouting from an acorn around 13,000 years ago. According to the creationist view of history, this tree was around 7,000 years old when the universe was created.
Cloning 1, Creationists 0
Also, this gives me hope that cloning can help me in my quest for my own immortality, since I plan to live forever.
(More about longevity — 250-million-year-old bacteria were revived from suspended animation. So there’s hope for cryosleep, too.)
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