Plant Diversity

Tracheophytes— Flowering Plants (Angiosperms)

What are the fastest-growing land and ocean plants?

Bamboo (Bambusa spp.), native to tropical and subtropical regions of Southeast Asia and islands of the Pacific and Indian Oceans, is the plant that gains height most quickly. Bamboo can grow almost 3 feet (1 meter) in 24 hours. This rapid growth is produced partly by cell division and partly by cell enlargement. The ocean plant that seems to set all records is a species of marine algae called the Pacific giant kelp (Macrocystis pyrifera), which can grow up to 150 feet (46 meters) or more in length—and has even been measured growing about 18 inches (45.72 centimeters) in a day.



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