Editing Clonal colony

{{Short description|Genetically identical, single site plants, fungi, or bacteria}}{{More citations needed|date=June 2024}}{{Redirect|Ramet|the commune in [[Alba County]], [[Romania]]|Râmeţ}}

[[File:Clonal colony of Iris germanica.jpg|thumb|right|A clonal colony of ''[[Iris germanica]]''-note the [[Rhizome|rhizomatous]] stems by which the plant reproduces.]]
A '''clonal colony''' or '''genet''' is a group of [[genetics|genetically]] identical individuals, such as [[plant]]s, [[fungi]], or [[bacteria]], that have grown in a given location, all originating [[vegetative reproduction|vegetatively]], not [[Sexual reproduction|sexually]], from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in such a population is referred to as a '''ramet'''. In [[fungi]], "individuals" typically refers to the visible [[fruiting bodies]] or [[mushroom]]s that develop from a common [[mycelium]] which, although spread over a large area, is otherwise hidden in the [[soil]]. Clonal [[colony (biology)|colonies]] are common in many plant [[species]]. Although many plants [[sexual reproduction|reproduce sexually]] through the production of [[seed]], [[plant reproduction|reproduction]] occurs by underground [[stolon]]s or [[rhizome]]s in some plants. Above ground, these plants most often appear to be distinct individuals, but underground they remain interconnected and are all clones of the same plant. However, it is not always easy to recognize a clonal colony especially if it spreads underground and is also sexually reproducing.

==Methods of establishment==
With most [[woody plant]]s, clonal colonies arise by wide-ranging [[root]]s that at intervals send up new [[Shoot (botany)|shoot]]s, termed [[basal shoot|suckers]].  [[Tree]]s and [[shrub]]s with [[branch]]es that may tend to bend and rest on the ground, or which possess the ability to form [[aerial root]]s can form colonies via [[layering]], or aerial rooting, e. g. [[willow]], [[blackberry]], [[Ficus|fig]], and [[banyan]]. Some [[vine]]s naturally form [[adventitious]] roots on their [[plant stem|stems]] that take root in the soil when the stems contact the ground, e.g. [[Hedera|ivy]] and [[trumpet vine]]. With other vines, rooting of the stem where nodes come into contact with soil may establish a clonal colony, e.g. [[Wisteria]]. [[Fern]]s and many [[herbaceous]] [[flowering plant]]s often form clonal colonies via horizontal underground stems termed [[rhizome]]s, e.g. ostrich fern ''[[Matteuccia struthiopteris]]'' and [[goldenrod]]. A number of herbaceous flowering plants form clonal colonies via horizontal surface stems termed [[stolon]]s, or runners; e.g. [[strawberry]] and many [[grass]]es. Non-woody plants with underground [[storage organ]]s such as [[bulb]]s and [[corm]]s can also form colonies, e.g. ''[[Narcissus (genus)|Narcissus]]'' and ''[[Crocus]]''.  A few plant species can form colonies via adventitious [[plantlet]]s that form on leaves, e.g. ''[[Kalanchoe daigremontiana]]'' and ''[[Tolmiea menziesii]]''. A few plant species can form colonies via asexual seeds, termed [[apomixis]], e.g. [[dandelion]].{{Citation needed|date=March 2021}}

==Record colonies==
The only known natural example of [[King's Lomatia]] (''Lomatia tasmanica'') found growing in the wild is a clonal colony in [[Tasmania]] estimated to be 43,600 years old.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1996/10/21/01.asp |title=Tasmanian bush could be oldest living organism |access-date=2008-05-07 |publisher=[[Discovery Channel]] |url-status = dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060723041627/http://www.exn.ca/Stories/1996/10/21/01.asp |archive-date=2006-07-23 }}</ref>

A group of 47,000 [[Quaking Aspen]] (''Populus tremuloides'') trees (nicknamed "[[Pando (tree)|Pando]]") in the [[Wasatch Mountains]], [[Utah]], United States, has been shown to be a single clone connected by the root system. It is sometimes considered the world's [[largest organism]] by [[mass]], covering {{convert|106|acres}}, and also as among the world's oldest living organisms, at an estimated 14,000 years old.<ref name="PandoAge">{{Cite journal|last1=Mock|first1=K. E.|last2=Rowe|first2=C. A.|last3=Hooten|first3=M. B.|last4=Dewoody|first4=J.|last5=Hipkins|first5=V. D.|date=November 2008|title=Clonal dynamics in western North American aspen ( Populus tremuloides )|journal=Molecular Ecology|language=en|volume=17|issue=22|pages=4827–4844|doi=10.1111/j.1365-294X.2008.03963.x|pmid=19140975|bibcode=2008MolEc..17.4827M |s2cid=1425039}}</ref>

Another possible candidate for [[list of long-living organisms|oldest organism]] on [[earth]] is an underwater meadow of the [[marine botany|marine plant]] ''[[Posidonia oceanica]]'' in the [[Mediterranean Sea]], which could be up to 100,000 years of age.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ibiza-spotlight.com/node/76071 |title=Ibiza's Monster Marine Plant |access-date=2008-05-07 |publisher=Ibiza Spotlight }}</ref>

==Examples==
When woody plants form clonal colonies, they often remain connected through the root system, sharing roots, water and [[plant nutrition|mineral nutrients]]. A few non-vining, woody plants that form clonal colonies are [[Bigelow oak]] (''Quercus sinuata'' var. ''breviloba''),<ref>{{Cite book|last=Lance|first=Ron|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LNuSw-Zx5hIC&dq=quercus+sinuata+clonal+colony&pg=PA280|title=Woody Plants of the Southeastern United States: A Winter Guide|date=2004|publisher=University of Georgia Press|isbn=978-0-8203-2524-8|language=en}}</ref> [[quaking aspen]] (''Populus tremuloides''), [[bayberry]] (''Myrica pensylvanica''), [[black locust]] (''Robinia pseudoacacia''), [[creosote bush]] (''Larrea tridentata''), [[Staphylea|bladdernut]], [[blueberry]] (''Vaccinium''), [[devil's club]] (''Oplopanax horridus''), [[forsythia]], [[hazelnut]] (''Corylus''), [[honey locust]] (''Gleditsia triacanthos''), [[Kentucky coffeetree]] (''Gymnocladus dioicus''), [[Kerria (plant)|kerria]] (''Kerria japonica''), [[Asimina triloba|pawpaw]] (''Asimina triloba''), [[Populus|poplar]]s (''Populus''), [[sassafras]] (''Sassafras albidum''), [[sumac]] (''Rhus''), sweetgum (''[[Liquidambar styraciflua]]''), and [[sweetshrub]] (''Calycanthus floridus'').{{Citation needed|date=September 2020}}

==See also==
* [[King Clone]]
* [[Tumour heterogeneity]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Commons category|Clonal colony}}
* {{cite journal | last1 = Cook | first1 = R. E. | year = 1983 | title = Clonal plant populations | journal = [[American Scientist]] | volume = 71 | issue = 3 | pages = 244–253 | bibcode = 1983AmSci..71..244C }}
* Kricher, J. C., & Morrison, G. (1988). ''A Field Guide to Eastern Forests'', pp.&nbsp;19–20. Peterson Field Guide Series. {{ISBN|0-395-35346-7}}.

[[Category:Plant reproduction]]
[[Category:Plant morphology]]
[[Category:Mycology]]