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I wonder why they had to clone it in the first place. Most plants can be "reproduced" by taking a cutting and dipping the end in rooting compound. Perhaps thi

I wonder why they had to clone it in the first place. Most plants can be "reproduced" by taking a cutting and dipping the end in rooting compound. Perhaps this "oldest living organism" isn't that sophisticated though. Still, a cloned plant doesn't seem like much of an achievement compared with a cloned animal. However, that said, if this plant has really survived for 43000 years then that is pretty impressive. It must have been doing an awfully fine job on its own. That makes human efforts seem a little puny in comparison.

yannis 17y ago
The actual plant lives approximately 300 years, however all copies are identical hence all the wild plants stemming from this parent are considered as one living organism. Another interesting plant is Welwitschia that can be found in Namimbia and Angola. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Welwitschia). Although under threat of extinction the plants living in Angola are better protected than the plants in Namibia, owing to the relatively high concentration of landmines in Angola, which keep collectors away!