Everyone knows that trees can live long. It is not surprising that trees live longer than humans and the most everything on the planet. Trees can live more than 100 years and can also live a thousand years, depending with where the tree is if it is in a safe place where people or others thing can not destroy it.
The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) has been deemed the oldest tree in existence, reaching an age of over 5,000 years old. This tree is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah.
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.
Sweden’s Dalarna province is home to the world’s oldest recorded tree, a spruce that is 9,550 years old. The spruce tree has shown to be a tenacious survivor that has endured by growing between erect trees and smaller bushes in pace with the dramatic climate changes over time.
The tree has survived for so long due to vegetative cloning. The visible tree is relatively young, but it is part of an older root system which dates back thousands of years. The trunk of the tree may die and regrow multiple times, but the tree’s root system remains intact and in turn sprouts another trunk.
The bristlecone pine is the longest-lived species in the world. A few are known to have lived for over 5,000 years. However, growth is extremely slow. A 40-year-old bristlecone pine may not even reach six inches (15 centimetres). In harsh conditions, bristlecone pines stop growing in height, but their trunk diameter continues to increase throughout their lives.
This species is highly tolerant of drought. One tree was found with 35-year-old pine needles (modified leaves) that were still functional and photosynthesizing, despite periods of drought.
