The age of individual plants is difficult to assess, but they are very long-lived, living 1000 years or more. Some individuals may be more than 2000 years old.[13] Because it only produces a single pair of functional leaves, it has been suspected that the plant is actually neotenic, but research shows that its anatomy is not that of an adult and giant seedling. Instead, it turns out that the plant is "handicapped" in having "lost its head" at an early stage.[21]
