It’s green. It’s huge. It’s still growing.

Meet the biggest plant, Poseidon’s (Poh-seye-duns) ribbon weed. This seagrass forms meadows underwater. It grows off the coast of western Australia in Shark Bay. And this one plant spread over more than 111 miles.

Shark Bay has the most seagrass in the world. Scientists took samples from 10 meadows. They wanted to learn more about each type of grass. They were in for a surprise. The samples show the plants are all related. They come from one starter plant!

The biggest known plant used to be a group of quaking aspen trees called Pando in Utah. A tree sent out shoots sideways under the soil. The shoots made sprouts that popped through the ground. Those became over 47,000 more trees. What looks like a forest is a single tree!

Poseidon’s ribbon weed is similar. One plant makes a clone of itself by sending out a shoot underground. These shoots are called rhizomes. Rhizomes store starches, proteins, and other nutrients. New sprouts come from rhizomes. The sprouts use the nutrients to grow. 

Researchers believe this Poseidon’s ribbon weed is around 4,500 years old. That’s over 2,000 years before Jesus was born!

Cyclones and rising ocean temperatures have killed or harmed about seven square miles of Poseidon’s ribbon weed. Scientists are working to protect new growth.

Seagrass is home to many small creatures. It also filters and cleans the ocean. Larger animals thrive in seagrass meadows. They include turtles, fish, crabs, and sea cows.

The Bible teaches all of creation belongs to God. “The world and all that is in it, you have founded them.” (Psalm 89:11)

Why? God makes and cares for even the smallest blades of seagrass—and the genes within them. He has a purpose for every part of every living thing.