In eastern California, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) known as Methuselah has long been considered Earth's oldest living thing. According to tree-ring data, Methuselah is 4,853 years old — meaning it was well established by the time ancient Egyptians built the pyramids at Giza.
A colony of Huon pine trees covering 2.5 acres (1.0 ha) on Mount Read (Tasmania) is estimated to be around 10,000 years old, as determined by DNA samples taken from pollen collected from the sediment of a nearby lake.
Trees can live anywhere from less than 100 years to more than a few thousand years depending on the species. However, one species in particular outlives them all. The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) has been deemed the oldest tree in existence, reaching an age of over 5,000 years old.
Officially, the oldest tree on Earth is Methuselah, a bristlecone pine of the species Pinus longaeva in the Inyo National Forest of California that is at least 4,789 years old, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. The Lañilawal cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides) could be older.
To see the world's oldest tree, or one of the frontrunners for world's oldest tree, one must travel to a mountaintop in Sweden where a spruce tree has kept its tenacious hold on life for nearly 10,000 years.
The tree grows in a misty, old-growth forest on the north face of the tallest mountain on Yakushima island in Japan. Tree rings indicate the venerable cryptomeria is at least 2,000 years old, though some estimate it could be as old as 7,000 years.
Sarv-e Abarqu, also called the "Zoroastrian Sarv," is a cypress tree in Yazd province, Iran. The tree is estimated to be at least 4,000 years old and, having lived through the dawn of human civilization not far away, it is considered an Iranian national monument.
The Huon pine is Australia's oldest living tree and is one of the oldest living organisms on earth. Individuals have been known to reach an age of 3,000 years. Fossil records from a tree found in a boggy area in the south west of Tasmania were dated at 3,462 years!
A 5,000-year-old tree in Chile has been officially recognized as the world's oldest. The tree, a Patagonian cypress, is located in the Alerce Costero National Park and is nicknamed “Great Grandfather.” It is estimated to be between 5,000 and 6,500 years old, making it the oldest living organism on Earth.
Some trees can live for centuries or even millennia but the secrets behind their long life spans have eluded scientists. However, new research has found that the ginkgo tree, which can live more than 1,000 years, doesn't really show any expected effects of aging — they appear to be primed for immortality.
The first "tree" appears during the Devonian period, between 350 and 420 million years ago. This Progymnosperm is called Archaeopteris. Its wood resembles that of conifers, its trunk is thick, and it can reach up to 50 m.
The coast redwood (sequoia sempervirens) tree is 115.92 meters (380 feet) tall and its name is derived from Greek mythology – Hyperion was one of the Titans and the father of sun god Helios and moon goddess Selene. Hyperion's trunk diameter is 4.84 meters (13 feet).
Tree Age – A Dog's Life Calculation ONE HUMAN'S YEAR EQUALS ABOUT ONE MONTH FOR A TREE. All living organisms have a life expectancy table.
The fossil tree on the Museum's east lawn is thought to have been in its current position since the 1970s, but it's been part of the collection since 1873.
Sweetwater is home to residents of all ages, including one that's estimated to be 800 years old. The oldest living being in Sweetwater is a rare Texas Madrone tree, located along the trail that follows Pedernales Summit Parkway, the community's main thoroughfare.
World's Oldest Water Lies At The Bottom Of A Canadian Mine And Is 2 Billion Years Old.
HD 140283 had a higher than predicted oxygen-to-iron ratio and, since oxygen was not abundant in the universe for a few million years, it pointed again to a lower age for the star. As a result of all of this work, Bond and his collaborators estimated HD 140283's age to be 14.46 billion years.
Today, we know from radiometric dating that Earth is about 4.5 billion years old.
Dating to around 3.6 billion years ago, the Pilbara region of Western Australia is home to the fossilised evidence of the Earth's oldest lifeforms.
Although there are claims of mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) in southern Australia growing to over 120 metres, the tallest ever officially measured was 107 metres. Today the tallest living known specimen is a 99.8-metre tree called Centurion in the Arve Valley, Tasmania.
Australia's mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) is the second tallest growing tree species in the world. The tallest specimen – nicknamed 'Centurion' – stands at 99.6m in Tasmania's Arve Valley.
Pando, the 47,000-tree clonal colony of male* quaking aspen (Populus tremuloides) in Utah is thought to be one of the world's oldest living organisms—the root system of Pando is an estimated 80,000 years old.
The oldest tree known to have been planted by a human rather than by natural seeding is a 2,300-year-old sacred fig or bo-tree (Ficus religiosa) that has been named Sri Maha Bodhiya, and stands in Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka.
Bristlecone pines, yew trees, and ginkgo are a few of the trees that live the longest — often for thousands of years. Douglas firs and redwoods have also been known to live for up to 1,000 years. Read more to learn what trees can live the longest.