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The ancient trees that have lessons for the future

What we can learn from efforts to protect Tane Mahuta, a giant kauri tree in New Zealand, and Pando, a forest of thousands of genetically identical trees that make up one organism

By Rowan Hooper

11 August 2023

Tāne Mahuta, a kauri tree named for the Māori god of forests

imageBROKER/Alamy

The following is an extract from our nature newsletter Wild Wild Life. Sign up to receive it for free in your inbox every month.

I want to introduce you to two ancient organisms on different sides of the planet – one in the US, the other in New Zealand. Both are trees, both make us look at the world anew and I think both have lessons for us in the future. Pando, in Utah, is the world’s largest organism by dry weight – it’s a…

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