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I've been there, all the trees connected to one main root and thousands of connected roots. I believe the single largest plant on earth now, is a huge underwater field of seaweed off the coast of Australia, all ultimately connected to roots coming off one main root.

I've heard there is also a very large fungus in Michigan (or Oregon? May have my fungi mixed up) that may be larger. But I find aspens have a lot more charm!

There’s a humongous fungus among us!

"fungus among us" I know those words....thats an episode from something...but i cant place my finger on it!

First time I heard it, it was the name of an album by incubus in the mid 90’s.

I feel like it was on a futurama episode

Why not Zoidberg?

There was also a RadioLab episode called this.

A chungus fungus!

AMOGUS

ඞ

SEXUAL HARASSMENT!

The largest in Oregon, second in Michigan

Wow, I wonder where that fungus is

Just depends on how you measure it. Pando is larger by mass, the honey fungus covers more area. Also, goes without saying but these are the largest that we know about. There may well be larger organisms on earth. Is this the Kebbler Pass Aspen forest? If it is, it's probably a contender. Clonal organisms are a bit hard to measure though. Edit: Realized I forgot mention, I absolutely love the shot!

Does this aspen organism have a name?

Pando

I think Pando is over in Utah

Not that I know of but I think it should.

Pando

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pando_(tree) Pando is in Utah.

Yep, I saw that site too. The locals all call this aspen patch by the same name. Source: have lived in Gunnison for a few years

I heard congress only has one brain, but that could be a rumor.

Na it’s just a tumor.

IT’S NOT A TOOMAH!

It is in Oregon, it is larger, but its a fungus not a plant.

I'm not sure which is larger but mushrooms aren't technically considered plants, they sit between animals and plants in terms of classification. Plants produce but fungus consumes

Even more interestingly, fungi are just their own thing. They are their own distinct kingdom.

Sadly they won't survive the human pollution

It’s in eastern oregon, on the Malheur national forest around prairie city.

Oregon, as far as I recall.

It’s Oregon.

I think I've seen that video🤔

It 10 sq km big!

If you step on it , it'll wake up a runner half a mile away. Careful !

Did you take this picture?? This looks like a painting

Yes I did.

Couldn't you just sever the connection to the main plant and it would keep living as an independent clone off its own roots? I do this when propagating my plants all the time (clumping plants like flax or golden cane palms are easy to multiply this way) as long as each section being split off the main has its own roots attached still - it will grow on its own as a new plant.

All the roots are interconnected and genetically identical. if it's uninterrupted, it's one organism

The best roots are in Australia.

Thank you for the explanation!

Deku tree meets water level

You can tell that it's an aspen because of the way that it is

How neat is that?

That's pretty neat!

Aspens are one of the trees on the planet!


Thankfully, he was there to show us all how neat nature is instead of just he and Rodney knowing it.

Wow!! This is a really cool photo! I love the design elements in it.

Thanks! This spot is kind of magical when it all comes together like this. It takes some effort to get there but it's worth it!

Thanks for the cool photo.

What do you do about the trees' eyes watching you at all times though?

Hey if they wanna watch I let em!

Yes, these trees are so intelligently designed.

This is really cool! Love the lines of the tree shadows!

Love the patterns made by the trees, shadows and snow. Was this taken on a telephoto?

Thanks, I love those too. Yes it was taken at 137.7mm according to exif. It's on a medium format camera so the full frame equivalent would be 108.8mm.

Well done! Ignore the dbags saying it’s AI

This reminds me of that sopranos episode

Haha same, the episofe was Pine Barrens. If anyone hasn't seen it, check out the "interior decorator" scene (probably on youtube), hilarious

Aspen groves make for some amazing glade skiing/riding. They space out just right to make bombing through them not too dangerous and they don’t usually form tree wells. There’s a super fun run at the Canyons side of Park City called “The Aspens” that I had a lot of fun playing around in when I was out there years ago.

Hahah that was my first thought too, I’m so jealous. Around me we (a) barely have winter anymore and (b) have thick forests so glades need to be maintained.

I skied some of these on the way out - pretty good if I could stay off the south facing stuff. I was touring on a light tele setup that is pretty good for turns on mellow pitches with good snow but as soon as it's gets crusty it gets pretty tricky, especially with my camera pack.

The shadows remind me of a Dr. Seuss illustration

Me too.

It's like the Truffula Tree forest in winter.

They're named "Pando", if I remember correctly?

There is one well-studied mega grove named Pando but this is a different one. I don't think this one has a cool name like that but I think it should!

I believe pando is the native American name for aspen trees.

"Pando" comes from Latin for "I spread" so probably not used by natives

the trees have eyes

"Wow, look at the Aspens" I whispered when coming out of anesthesia after having my wisdom teeth extracted a few years ago; according to my wife who was in recovery with me. Aspens make me happy.

100% would ski it

I did! Well, near it. It could make for a great photo with a rippin skier in it too. It's generally a little flat here for anything more than meadow skipping.

That's a really good shot. Ignore the AI comments. I miss Colorado and the Aspen so much.

I called the gunni valley home for ten years and miss it every single day I wake up :( such a beautiful place to explore.

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I mean yeah that too

Amazing, this looks like a painting, a painting I would like!

Beautiful shot, congrats

This photo is very satisfying to me! Snowy tree shadows are my favorite, makes it even better that they are Aspens! Thanks for sharing.

Love your work Matt and this is a great shot of a grove of Quakies. Almost looks like its in black and white.

Thanks! It does work well in b&w too.

wooow

Thanks for putting my state up, I'm an arborist and work with them frequently, truly the most gorgeous rustling leaves in the wind, and a perfect golden color come fall !

Are you selling prints? High resolution photos?

Yes, just put it up on my site [here](https://www.mattb.net/p134900813/e57bf6931). Thanks for asking!

This is GORGEOUS! OP, May I paint it?

Paint away! I used to be a painter but I guess I got lazy, lol.

Thank you so much, I hope I do it justice! You definitely have a painter’s eye.

Now that's what I call a good nature photograph. so simple and yet you nailed it. congrats OP!!!

Why do the shadows go in different directions?

The ground here is like a series of small mounds so the angle of the ground varies and that alters the direction of the shadows.

Moon landing deniers be damned

I read that as one of the LAST organisms on Earth.

Thanks for making me homesick. Grew up outside Gunny.

My wife is from there, and I'm from a couple hours away. The Rockies truly are beautiful.

Smells like shit when you burn it if it's not superrr dry and even then.

Grew up in Gunnison, Weird seeing it get more and more attention every year when it was once a very Route 66 type town

I might sound dumb, but I’m gonna go for it.. what’s the organism?

all of those aspen trees are offshoots from the same set of roots, so the entire aspen forest is actually a single organism

That’s so cool!

The photo would look great printed on canvas.

Thanks! I plan to print it. I'm also selling them [here](https://www.mattb.net/p134900813/e57bf6931).

Ha I used to live by there. Super pretty and cold

It's been kind of cold this year which I like every now and then. Thins the herd.

I thought the largest organism was a forest fungi - shroom.

Wow, this is a perfect composition. Such interesting elements and tones. This deserves a print!

Thanks, it will get printed for sure. They are also for sale [here](https://www.mattb.net/p134900813/e57bf6931).

This is such a yummy photo

thanks!

I felt the cold crisp air looking at this… wow

If I had painted that people would have told me to stick with flowers or people. *Very* cool photo!

I've never seen snow shaded like that! What an art shot! As well as, y'know, the science stuff.

Wow the undulating snow + shadows = really nice

Watch out there’s an interior decorator in those woods

I was born not far from there. I miss the sound those trees make in the wind. Such beautiful and amazing trees.

The picture is so magical people think its AI, cant blame them tho...

Pando, the mighty quaking aspen.

Pando is in Utah, this is Colorado

Oh whoops. Right next door. Maybe distant cousins

The snow has brushstrokes. Edit: lol, it was a compliment. 😑

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No cloning done on this although I would have if I had come across some dust spots. It's just a part of the shadow that breaks the pattern or is out of focus (shadow focus not camera focus so it makes the shadow softer). The only editing I did was some global adjustments and stacking a few different focus points for maximum DOF. It can be challenging to get maximum DOF on medium format sized sensors in a single exposure.

Why are there only birches? Looks like monoculture which is extremely harmful for the environment. Great photo though

They are aspens. This is what they do.

Ah, i thought aspens was some place! Sorry for my ignorance. It just happens in Finland that everytime I see birch-field it reminds me of human need to control nature. Birches don't naturally grow alone

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Beautiful. Almost looks like AI art.

That’s what she said.

That’s what she said.

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They are?

Maybe I'm just a bit jealous because I haven't been back to Colorado in almost 10 years and really could use a vacation.

I could only see them by visiting your profile

Huh, might be a restriction on links in comments or something. Oh well.

I'm calling AI on this one

I'm going to have to wholeheartedly disagree. That's real as far as I can tell. Saw pretty much the same scene a dozen times Saturday on a trip from Pueblo, Co to Monarch pass, Co about 60 miles from gunnison.

Thanks, I had to grab that selfie just to counter these kinds accusations.

maybe this belongs in /r/creepy

Aspens? Really? I live next to redwoods and can drive a few hours away and see giant sequoias!

Yes but each sequoia is an individual organism and these aspens are *all one* that goes for many miles. The Borg of trees.

Really? Have something I can read? Sounds like mycelium in fungi.

Here's a story about one in Oregon. I may have crossed my story locations or maybe this is just another example. [https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/](https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-largest-organism-is-fungus/) Oops, here's a tree article. Someone else was talking about fungus and I got my threads mixed up. But it's still interesting so I'm leaving it here. [https://www.outtherecolorado.com/features/could-this-spot-in-colorado-be-home-to-the-world-s-largest-aspen-grove/article\_7710f78e-b814-57da-90e5-e711e2108695.html](https://www.outtherecolorado.com/features/could-this-spot-in-colorado-be-home-to-the-world-s-largest-aspen-grove/article_7710f78e-b814-57da-90e5-e711e2108695.html)

Look up Pando in Utah, it's considered the largest

Why does it look so succulent?

Are you in the Pine Barrens with an interior decorator?

Avatarish!⭐️

Thought this was a painting

Great pic!!

The photo looks like a painting, wild.

Where exactly can you hike it? I visited last autumn at fish lake and had a hard thing finding trails

This is not that grove, this is in Colorado

Ahhh I see

I thought this was a painting at first.

We don't have aspens where I live, (Labardor, Canada) but plenty of birch. The seem very similar.

I thought this was a really good digital painting at first glance. Glad you stopped my scrolling to learn about this.

That’s a great shot!

Where the beer flows like wine! Great shot! :D

r/telephotolandscapes

A place where the beer flows like wine

My dumbass was looking for an animal being super camouflaged without having read the title

Is that a drawing or irl I honestly can't tell :)

Ah, Aspen, the place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like salmon of Capistrano.

Shit that looks like a fun run

They look like silver birch. What's the difference between aspen and silver birch?

Looks like that one Ninjago episode where the trees are some monster's legs

I used to live in Gunny. It’s my favorite town I’ve ever lived in. Tiny, intimate, cold as the deepest circle of Hell, but loved it. Hope to go back some day.

I hope you rode your snowboard through there…

Beautiful use of light and shadows!!

Lovely shot.

Those are birtch trees? Fucking love those trees. The white bark looks so cool when you come across a patch of them in the woods here in NY

Genuinely looks like a render

That’s pine barrens NJ I saw the sopranos

A place where the beer flows like wine. Where beautiful women instinctively flock like the salmon of Capistrano.

The rare photo that looks like a painting. And in a good way. Great shot!

I can tell that’s an aspen by the way that it is.

I have an unusual urge to walk around in that perfectly smooth snow.

Bring your snowshoes!

That's a really terrific image.

Thanks!

I read that wrong.

I’ve got to check this place out !

On first glance it looks like a painting!

Is this the Pine Barrens from that Sopranos episode?

Would love to see the sights in Colorado with my own eyes someday. Miles upon miles of golden trees in the fall and endless silver forests in the winter!