Interesting. But the age of those clones, IMO, is very far-fetched, especially that 80,000 year figure for the aspens. As for the sprouting from the base of a burned stem, Pitch Pine does that here. I saw it after the nearby fire last year. I might have pictures. I think also what we call Scrub Oak (Quercus ilicifolia) also does that. I can't remember for sure though. It seems to me I saw regrowth from the roots of those too. Anyway, thanks.
--- On Sun, 1/10/10, Edward Frank <[email protected]> wrote: From: Edward Frank <[email protected]> Subject: [ENTS] In California, a Scrub Oak Is an Old Pro at Cloning To: "Western Native Tree Society" <[email protected]>, "ENTS Google" <[email protected]> Date: Sunday, January 10, 2010, 6:30 AM WNTS, ENTS, I saw this report on a California scrub oak ( Quercus palmeri) that might be of interest to all of you: In California, a Scrub Oak Is an Old Pro at Cloning By HENRY FOUNTAIN Published: January 4, 2010 In Southern California, a place where most everything is new, botanists have discovered something very old: a scrub oak that has been cloning itself for at least 13,000 years. The oak, a low thicket of about 70 stem clusters that covers 2,000 square feet in a gulch in the Jurupa Hills of Riverside County, cannot reproduce by sexual means. Instead it reproduces vegetatively, after a fire, with new sprouts growing from the base of burned stems. That means all the plant tissue is genetically identical. Continued http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/05/science/05clone.html?ref=science Ed Frank http://nature-web-network.blogspot.com/ http://primalforests.ning.com/ http://www.facebook.com/profile.php?ref=profile&id=709156957
