Final answer:
The tree known for its greatest weight due to clonality is 'Pando,' a clonal colony of quaking aspen in Utah, weighing over six million kilograms and estimated to be around 80,000 years old. It extends over 43 hectares and reproduces mainly asexually via a massive underground root system. While coastal redwoods are the tallest, Pando is the heaviest due to its vast connected network.
Step-by-step explanation:
The tree famous for the greatest weight due to its clonal nature is named 'Pando.' Pando is a colony of quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) located in Utah. Despite individual aspen trees being short-lived, the Pando clone is one of the most massive and oldest living organisms on Earth. This clonal colony, also known as a single organism connected by one root system, has an astonishing estimated weight of over six million kilograms, extends over 43 hectares, and may have an age of 80,000 years. The size and longevity of Pando are attributed to its asexual reproduction method, where new stems (or individual trees) arise from one massive underground root system.
Although the coastal redwoods (Sequoia sempervirens) are known to be the tallest trees in the world, reaching heights of approximately 116 meters, it is the Pando aspen clone that takes the prize for the greatest weight. This remarkable weight is due to the vast interconnected network of roots and tree trunks that comprise the clonal colony. Not only are aspen trees adept at asexual reproduction through their root systems, but they can also reproduce sexually like other angiosperms, with unisexual trees producing either male or female gametes.