X-Message-Number: 8366
From:  (Thomas Donaldson)
Subject: Re: CryoNet #8364
Date: Thu, 10 Jul 1997 23:17:19 -0700 (PDT)

Hi again!

It seems to me that a plant that produces clones of itself cannot really
be said to be 43,000 years old just because the clones go back that far.

There are some South African plants which are just as unimpressive, but
propagate by runners rather than clones ie. the plant itself grows
constantly. Some parts die off, others flourish. These have lived for
almost as long, and might be reasonably called single plants.

Since some bacteria and other animals propagate by cloning too, and
similarly have been around for a LONG time ... much longer than just a 
few tens of thousands of years, this may not be such an achievement.

Of course, the real issue for us is how we can live that long. Ourselves,
not our clones. It's far from clear that these instances from botany
bear at all on our own hopes.

			Long long life,

				Thomas Donaldson

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