Oldest tree in the world
The oldest tree in the world can be find in remote Chinese forests, the same places where Prometheus and Methuselah lived. They are the oldest tree in the world. When The Great Pyramid of Giza was being constructed while the oldest tree in the world were still rising; by the time Julius Caesar came to power, the trees had already been around for thousands of years.
The process of determining a tree’s age involves professionals taking a central model from the trees base and counting its rings. One helpful way to learn about environmental changes through time is dendrochronology, which is the study of tree rings and how they are dated.
Unfortunately, getting intact core samples is not always possible because of the decay process and the enormous diameter of a tree’s trunk. It is common practice to determine a tree’s age after its death. The use of a specialized tool that can extract a very thin slice makes it possible to obtain a core sample from a tree without harming it.
Furthermore, coring has only sampled a tiny fraction of old trees. More than three trillion trees cover the planet, according to a 2015 study in Nature.
Among all oldest tree in the world, the following have the longest lifespans documented.
Oldest tree in the world, Prometheus (4,900 years old at the time of its cut down)
The Great Basin bristle cone pine known as Prometheus lived near Wheeler Peak, Nevada. It was cut down in 1964 after an extraordinary lifespan of about five thousand years. It is still the record-holder for the oldest tree in the world. Geographer Donald R. Currey, who specializes in glaciology and ice ages, was approved agreement to collect central models from pine trees within the park. With approval, he proceeded to chop down the renowned Prometheus tree. Currey estimated the tree’s age to be above 4,900 years based on the counting of 4,862 rings. Since Currey left the trunk at the tree’s base to count the rings, we know the tree is older than 4,862 years. That Currey cut down the tree because his coring tool got stuck is the conventional story. Some others think he should cut down the tree so they can count the rings more precisely. The Great Basin Visitor Center in Nevada, which is part of Great Basin National Park, currently displays a section of the tree.
Methuselah (4,600 years old)
The bristle cone pine has been recognized as the oldest living tree in the world since 1957. Edmund Schulman, a famous tree researcher who is associated with the University of Arizona’s Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, found Methuselah. He determined Methuselah’s age by tallying the core rings from several bristle cones in the vicinity.
To safeguard Methuselah from tourists who might touch it or go too close to its roots, the U.S. Forest department has avoided disclosing its precise location and has refrained from posting photos of the tree. The tree can be found in California’s White Foothills of Inyo National Forest, along the 7.2-kilometer-long Methuselah Trail.
Mystery tree (4,000 to 4,900 years old)
In the 2010s, stories began circulating that Schulman and his colleagues had accidentally sapped a tree older than Methuselah when they pulled core samples. Collaborating with Schulman, scientist Tom Harlan combed through the records of the Research laboratory of Tree-Ring Research and located a core sample from an additional bristle cone pine tree. Prior to Harlan’s passing in 2013, the sample’s age was established to be 4,800 years.
However, Lab of Tree-Ring Research researcher Matthew Salzer has not yet located the core. According to the Washington Post, Salzer and a coworker combed through previous notes in order to identify the tree that Harlan was believed to be communicating with. Unfortunately, not enough evidence was found to confirm its age. However, they said that, with the defective core, it is unlikely that the tree is as old as Prometheus, even though it might be older than Methuselah. It is currently unknown exactly where this tree is located outside of the California White Mountains; however, it is believed to be located there.
Alerce Milenario (2,400 to 5,400 years old)
Scientists at Chile’s Alerce Costero National Park used computer modeling to determine the age of the Alerce Milenario, popularly known as Gran Abuelo, to be 5,484 years in 2022, bringing it into the public eye. The alerce, scientifically known as Fitzroya cupressoides, is a type of Patagonian cypress, and its trunk is over thirteen feet (4.3 meters) long. Because of its enormous diameter, scientists have only managed to remove a portion of its core. Using modeling tools, researchers estimated the additional age and counted 2,400 tree rings on that precise core. The tree was considered 5,484 years old, as reported in Science magazine.
The fact that this tree’s core is among the oldest tree in the world cannot be denied, even though this modeling approach has only received partial approval from the scientific community. The location of Alerce Milenario is well known, and curious visitors often stop by to study its complex root system. In the hopes that it would bring attention to the tree and inspire additional conservation efforts, environmental scientist Jonathan Barichivich is leading the charge for the present study.
Giant sequoias (over 3,000 years old)
Tree coring devices have a hard time accurately determining the age of living sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum) in California due to their enormous size, an issue that is also faced with alerces. In an email to Live Science, Rocky Mountain Tree-Ring Research’s founder, Peter Brown, said that fallen or chopped down trees typically provide the most reliable age estimates for old sequoia trees.
Despite the fact that all four of the known massive sequoias are well over three thousand years old, none of them are now standing erect. A little over 3,200 years old, the President stands tall in California’s Sequoia National Park. Its age is thought to be approximately 2,200 years.
BLK 227 bald cypress (at least 2,624 years old)
In 2019, the finding of a bald cypress plant (Taxodium distichum) that is 2,624 years old was made public knowledge. There is no known younger tree in eastern North America older than this unidentified specimen is. It sits on a North Carolina tributary of the Cape Fear River, the Black River. The precise location of this ancient tree, like many others, remains a mystery.
Scientists in the same region found more trees that were more than two thousand years old. Core samples were taken from a small number of trees in the vicinity, suggesting that there might be mature bald cypress trees there.
CB-90-11 (at least 2,435 years old)
Rockies bristlecone pines (Pinus aristata) can live to a ripe old age, despite the common belief that they do not live, as long as their Great Basin folks can. According to research done in 1992, these trees can live for at least two millennia. The crew examined the Colorado plants on Black Mountain and Almagre Mountain Black Mountain in detail. Twelve Rocky Mountain bristlecone pines were determined to have endured for over 1,600 years, with four of the trees being over 2,100 years old. With a minimum age of 2,435 years, CB-90-11 was acknowledged as the oldest.
Unnamed Qilian juniper (2,230 years old)
The oldest tree in the world (China), a Qilian juniper (Juniperus przewalskii), was found in 2019 in the Qinghai province town of Delingha. The tree was 2,230 years old in 2009. Of the 98 trees in China that may be officially said to be over a thousand years old, this one is among them. The oldest trees in China incline to be located in distant highland areas, away from human interference and potential hazards like deforestation and wildfires.
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