By Amy Weiss
May 8 2019
Behold this fern which has the highest recorded chromosome number of any living organism.
Humans have 23 pairs of chromosomes, while this species of adder's-tongue fern, Ophioglossum reticulatum, has 630 pairs of chromosomes—some populations have been reported to have 720 pairs.¹ That's a total of 1,440 chromosomes per cell, and holds the Guinness world record!²