Tasmania’s 43,600-Year-Old King’s Holly Remains a Genetic Enigma
King’s holly, a shrub in southwest Tasmania, is among Earth’s oldest clonal organisms, with fossil evidence dating back 43,600 years. Despite producing flowers, it is sterile due to triploid chromosomes and reproduces only through cloning. Its survival is precarious, with populations confined to small areas and threatened by fire and pathogens, though a new colony was recently discovered.