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All the United States California Lucerne Valley King Clone

King Clone

A ring of creosote bushes that are estimated to be 11,700 years old.

Lucerne Valley, California

Added By
Elliot Frantz
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About

Located in the Mojave Desert, these Creosote bushes have been discovered to be a clonal colony. A clonal colony is a group of genetically identical plants that grew from a single original plant. These plants are often considered to be the same living organism.

This particular plant's age was measured using two methods: radiocarbon dating and measurement of growth. In the first method, pieces of wood from the center of the ring were analyzed to find the amount of the radioisotope carbon-14 present. The second method measured the amount of time a clonal creosote bush takes to grow outward in a ring. Both methods arrived at the same conclusions, giving an estimated age of 11,700 years.

The land that King Clone resides on is mostly unprotected. This means that, unfortunately, many people may drive over it with all-terrain vehicles. But it also means visitors can go see King Clone in person.

Related Tags

Natural Wonders Trees World's Oldest Nature Plants

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A photo tour detailing the directions is available here: http://www.lucernevalley.net/creosote/photo_tour.htm

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Added By

ProfessorElliot

Published

August 6, 2013

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  • http://blog.ted.com/2010/09/03/the-worlds-oldest-living-things-rachel-sussman-on-ted-com/
King Clone
Lucerne Valley, California, 92356
United States
34.435596, -116.651587
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Nearby Places

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Explore the Destination Guide

Photo of Lucerne Valley

Lucerne Valley

California

Places 2

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miles away

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miles away

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Photo of Lucerne Valley

Lucerne Valley

California

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