Did you know that the oldest tree on earth is 4,885 years old?

It’s called Methuselah and is located in the White Mountains in Inyo County, California, USA. It is a Pinus longaeva (Bristlecone Pine).

Another tree often regarded as the oldest is a Norway Spruce (better known to us as a Christmas tree) named Old Tjikko. It stands in Fulufjället National Park in the central Swedish district of Dalarna and is 9,550 years old. However, this age refers to the root system. The age of the tree itself is only a few hundred years. This is a clonal tree, and its age is determined by analyzing the carbon in the wood.

Previously, it was believed that an American pine tree of 4,700 years old was the oldest. The oldest tree in the Netherlands is 450 years old. It is a Quercus robur named “De Dikke Boom” (The Thick Tree), which is 25 meters high and stands in Laren.

The photo accompanying this article is from commons.wikimedia.org