Think diamonds are forever? Well, diamonds have a close competition in trees for that title, as they live long enough to be considered eternal! They are built to survive longer than most living organisms, unless they are attacked by disease, fire, lightning or cut down.
With this knowledge in hand, scientists have looked for the oldest trees they can find. These oldest specimens can provide scientists with insights into how living organisms can survive through good and bad times and outlive us all.
And the Award For the Oldest Tree Goes To……
So what is the oldest tree in the world? Though opinions are divided on this, but most scientists believe it is an ancient bristlecone pine named Methuselah (named after the oldest person in the Bible). But just how old is Methuselah? Tests show it to be over 4,840 years old!
Now, let’s count back almost 5,000 years into the past. Methuselah started growing in approximately 3,000 B.C. That’s about the time that ancient Egyptians were inventing the first systems of writing – hieroglyphics. Think about all that has taken place in human history in the last 5,000 years, Methuselah has stood and lived through it all!
Methuselah stands in the Inyo National Forest in California’s White Mountains. Its exact location, though, is kept a secret to protect it from vandals. Guests can visit the Methuselah Grove in Inyo National Forest, but they simply have to guess which tree Methuselah might be.
Methuselah wasn’t always the oldest tree in the world, though. An even older bristlecone pine named Prometheus was over 5,000 years old when it was cut down in Nevada by a U.S. Forest Service graduate student in 1964.
How Is a Tree’s Age Determined?
How can you tell how old a tree is? Their ages are determined by counting their rings. Back in 1964, the graduate student who cut down Prometheus did so to study its rings and figure out how old it was.
Today, scientists who study tree rings — called dendrochronologists — use modern technology to take samples of a tree’s core to study its rings without cutting it down. Tree rings are created each year when trees add new layers as they grow.
A special tool called a Swedish increment borer can be used to remove a core sample from the tree to count its rings and study the tree’s growth history. Taking these samples does no permanent damage to the tree.
Dendrochronologists believe the slender samples taken from trees are similar to the slight prick you feel when your blood sample is taken at the hospital. And there goes the history of trees and their near-eternal life span.
This article was adapted from wonderpolis.org
