Ribbon Weed

In News 

• The world’s largest plant ribbon weed has recently been discovered off the West Coast of Australia.

About Ribbon weed(Posidonia australis)

• It has been discovered in Shark Bay by a group of researchers from Flinders University and The University of Western Australia.
•  They found that the plant is 4,500 years old and  is sterile.
• It  has double the number of chromosomes than other similar plants.
• It has managed to survive the volatile atmosphere of the shallow Shark Bay and  a part of the reason may be that it is a polyploid – instead of taking half-half genome from both parents, it took 100 percent, something not unheard of in plants. 
  • Polyploid plants often reside in places with extreme environmental conditions, are often sterile, but can continue to grow if left undisturbed, and this giant seagrass has done just that
• Size and its comparison 
  • The ribbon weed covers an area of 20,000 hectares. 
  • The second largest plant, is the clonal colony of a quaking Aspen tree in Utah, which covers 43.6 hectares.
    •  The largest tree in India, the Great Banyan in Howrah’s Botanical Garden, covers 1.41 hectares.
      • In India, seagrass is found in many coastal areas, most notably in the Gulf of Mannar and Palk Strait. 

Significance 

• Seagrass performs a vital role in the environment, and it is good news for everyone in a world threatened by climate change.
• The Shark Bay ribbon has served as sinkhole, hospitable city, and firewall for centuries. 
• It has done all this without mating, so maybe it has one more distinction – being one of the oldest champions of sologamy.

Source:IE