How Can a Ring of Bushes Be 11,000 Years Old?

What Crafty Clover says in this video

Intro

Hi there, curious minds! I'm Crafty Clover! Let's discover something amazing. How can a ring of bushes be 11,000 years old?

The Big Idea

A ring of creosote bushes can be 11,000 years old, because it is one plant that keeps growing outward! It is called a clone, made of many stems with the same roots and genes. As the middle dies, the edges keep growing, so the ring slowly gets bigger.

New Shoots

Step one: send up new shoots. A creosote bush spreads by sending up new stems around its edges. Each new stem is a copy of the same plant.

Middle Fades

Step two: the middle fades. After many years, the oldest stems in the middle die and crumble. The younger shoots on the edge keep growing, making a ring.

Ring Grows

Step three: the ring grows slowly. In California's Mojave Desert, a ring called King Clone is about 11,000 years old. That makes it one of the oldest living things on Earth.

A Closer Look

Let's take a closer look! Young shoots pop up at the edge. Those stems keep growing outward. The old middle dies and fades away. And what is left is one giant ring.

Quick Facts

Quick facts! King Clone is about 67 feet across, which is 20 meters, at its widest. Scientists used radiocarbon dating to figure out its age. It began growing around the end of the last Ice Age. It lives on protected land, so visit only with a grown-up and look from afar.

Think Like a Scientist

Now, think like a scientist! Place a coin on a table, and surround it with a ring of other coins to model the clone. The center coin is the old part. The outer coins are the young shoots! Share what you discover with a grown-up.

Outro

One bush can grow into a ring for thousands of years. Science is amazing! Crafty Clover can be found on Amazon Books, Google Bookstore, and Apple Books. Available for purchase or download! Bye for now!