Rare recording reveals the sound produced by the largest living organism on Earth; listen

Scientists managed to record the “children” produced by the largest living organism on the planet, which is also one of the oldest.

These children come from the subtle trembling of a million leaves, echoing through their vast roots.

This is Pando, a clonal system of aspen (Populus tremuloides) composed of 47 thousand trunks with the same genetic code, weighing more than 6,000 metric tons and extending over an area of ​​400 km².

The remarkable forest, located in the state of Utah, in U.S, is made up of a single tree with multiple trunks that share a root system. This gives it the name “Pando”, which means “I spread myself” in Latin.

It is estimated that this system is impressively old at around 12,000 years and reaches up to 24 meters in height in some of its areas.

In the most recent research into the structure of the largest known living organism, Lance Oditt, founder of the organization “Friends of Pando”, declared that they are faced with intriguing discoveries.

The beginning of this research was motivated by artistic reasons. However, the scientific potential is immense, as sound vibrations traveling through the roots could reveal Pando's internal hydraulic structure in a non-invasive way.

The sound of Pando

Jeff Rice, the sound artist responsible for this work, carried out an experiment by placing a hydrophone in the hollow part of the base of one of the branches of the immense aspen tree.

Although we would not expect to pick up many sounds, as hydrophones typically work best in the water, depending on the their name suggests, and they can capture vibrations from surfaces like roots, which could be captured in Pando era unknown.

When Jeff put on the headphones, he got a surprise: there was a low but detectable sound. During a lightning storm, the sound increased and the device captured a strange resonant sound.

This sound is believed to be the result of the leaves of millions of aspens vibrating in the forest and transmitting the sound to the branches and then to the roots.

(Image: J. Zapell/Domain)

Furthermore, during the experiment, the impacts produced when manually hitting branches at a distance of 27 meters were also recorded.

Surprisingly, these sounds were audible, something that could not be picked up from the air. This experiment reinforces the theory that the Trembling Giant's root system is interconnected.

However, further research is needed to confirm that sound is not simply transmitted through the soil independently of the roots.

This aspen system is common in colonies, but Pando's size and age are what make it truly unique.

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