World’s Oldest Living Trees

Old Hara Tree. image credits: Thomas Ramsauer

Isn’t it amazing that trees live thousands years?! Some amazing trees were born before ancient civilizations and continue to grow.

The age of the trees can be determined through counting, cross-referencing tree rings and radiocarbon dating.

Here are some of the world’s oldest currently living trees. Enjoy and prepare to get amazed.

1. Old Hara-Pinus longaeva, the Great Basin bristlecone pine.

Age: 5,065

Location: White Mountains, California, United States

2. Methuselah-Great Basin bristlecone pine, Pinus longaeva

image credits: Oke

Age: 4,847

Location:Inyo  County, California, United States. The exact location is a Forest Service secret, for its protection. In 1964 another old tree, Prometheus was accidentally cut down by a scientist who didn’t realize the tree was as old as it was.

3. Llangernyw Yew-Common Yew, Taxus baccata

Age: 4,000-5,000

Location:Llangernyw, Conwy, North Wales

Living in the churchyard of St. Dygain’s Church in Llangernyw village, North Wales, Llangernyw is in the list of the 50 Great British Trees.

4. Cypress of Abarkuh

image credits: TruthBeethoven

Age: 4,000

Location: Abarkuh, Yazd, Iran

The Cypress of Abarkuh, also called the Zoroastrian Sarv, a tree in central Iran, is protected by the Cultural Heritage Organization of Iran as a national natural monument and attracts many tourists.

5. Gran Abuelo Tree

Age: 3,645

Location: Cordillera Pelada, Los Ríos, Chile

6. The President Tree

Age: 3,200

Location: Sierra Nevada, California, United States

Though these are the oldest individual living trees, there are several much older clonal colonies, which are made up of genetically identical trees connected by a single root system.

7. Pando Tree

Age: 80,000

Location: Fishlake National Forest, Utah, United States

The Pando clone, also known as The Trembling Giant, was discovered in 1968 by researcher Burton V. Barnes and is assumed to have one massive underground root system.

Unfortunately Pando is currently thought to be dying. The exact reasons are not known, it could be due to drought, insects and disease.

8. Old TjikkoImage credits: Karl Brodowsky

Age: 9,550

Location: Fulufjället National Park, Dalarna, Sweden

Although the trunk is about 600 years the root system is at least 9.550 years. The root system’s age was established using carbon dating and genetic matching.

It was discovered in 2004 by Leif Kullman, professor of Physical Geography and was named after his dead dog.

It’s really impressive how old these trees are. The oldest trees I have visited are “El Drago Milenario” (the thousand-year-old dragon) in Tenerife and the Banyan fig tree in Palermo.

The Dragon tree is situated in northwest Tenerife,  in the Dragon Tree Gardens Park. Its age was estimated in 1975 to be around 250 years, with a maximum of 365 years, not several thousand as had previously been claimed by a German scientist in the 18^th century.

There is no fee to pay and you can take photos of it from the plaza

The tree have this name because when the bark or the leaves are cut they secrete a red coloured resin, that looks like blood and is said to be the dried blood of dragons with healing properties. In the past, this “dragon’s blood” was extracted on an industrial scale and used to make varnishes and lacquers.

The Banyan Fig Tree is situated in the Piazza Marina of Palermo. It is more than 150 years old and is Palermo’s oldest tree. It a very impressive tree with aerial roots coming from all sides, making it an ideal place to relax in hot summer days.