The Ancient Clone
In an unassuming patch of the Mojave Desert, a sprawling ring of shrubs shows a long biological history. King Clone is a single organism of the creosote bush, Larrea tridentata. Every stem within this massive circle is genetically identical, having descended from one ancestral plant that took root as the last Ice Age ended. The colony measures an average of 45 feet (14 meters) in diameter, with its widest point reaching 67 feet (20 meters).
The organism's longevity is a result of its unique growth process. A creosote bush can reproduce vegetatively through a process called clonal fragmentation. As the plant ages, its crown splits, and new stems emerge from the periphery of its root system. Over thousands of years, the oldest central stems die off, leaving a void where the original plant once stood. The outward growth continues, slowly expanding the ring. This growth is exceptionally slow; when naturalist David Attenborough revisited the site in 2022, 40 years after his first visit, the ring had grown by less than an inch. This gradual expansion allows the single genetic individual to persist for millennia, far beyond the lifespan of any single stem.