In central Utah, on the Fishlake National Forest, there’s a grove of quaking aspen that looks like a whole forest. It’s actually one living thing. Scientists named it Pando, Latin for “I spread.” More than 40,000 trees over 106 acres all grew from a single seed and share one massive root system, sending up new shoots as it spreads. Together they weigh nearly 13 million pounds, which may make Pando the largest organism ever found. The individual trees come and go, but the root system has been alive for thousands of years. When the wind blows, the whole grove trembles and rustles together.
