Methuselah (tree)

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Methuselah (estimated germination 2832 BC) is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) in the White Mountains of California, which was 4,789 years old when sampled in 1957 by Schulman and Harlan. It is one of the oldest known non-clonal living organisms still alive, at the age of about 4,839 years old.[1][2] It is named after Methuselah, a Biblical figure reputed to have lived 969 years. Located in the "Forest of Ancients" in the Methuselah Grove at between 2,900–3,000 m above sea level, its exact location is currently undisclosed to the public as a protection against vandalism;[3] the coordinates cited here refer to the Methuselah Grove Visitor Center.

An older specimen, WPN-114 and nicknamed Prometheus, was more than 4,844 years old when cut down in 1964 (estimated germination date 2880 BC). Another tree, approximately 4,600 years old, is still living. A dendrochronology, based on these trees and other bristlecone pine samples, extends back to about 9000 BC, albeit with a single gap of about 500 years.[4]

Numerous claims of older plants of other species have been made, but these are all of clonal colonies, not individual plants.

In April 2008 Swedish scientists found several trees in the Western part of Sweden, on a mountain top between Sweden and Norway, of which carbon dating has determined that they are approximately 8000 years old. These trees therefore are among the first to have started growing after the Ice Age. Also numerous other trees have been found in the same county of ages 4500 to 5500 years old.

[edit] See also

[edit] References

  1. ^ Gymnosperm Database: Pinus longaeva
  2. ^ Info and clips from documentary film
  3. ^ Methuselah Walk. U.S. Forest Service / Eastern Sierra Interpretive Association.
  4. ^ Hall, Carl. "Staying Alive", San Francisco Chronicle, 1998-08-23. 

Coordinates: 37°23′07″N 118°10′38″W / 37.38528, -118.17722

[edit] External links