Methuselah, a bristlecone pine tree from California's White Mountains, is thought to be almost 5,000 years old and the oldest non-clonal tree in the world. The exact location of the gnarled, twisted Methuselah is a Forest Service secret, for its protection.
Okay, there seems to be A LOT of misinformation in this thread about this tree. I was just there in last October and can tell you a few things:
This picture is NOT of Methuselah. While it was the same kind of tree and in the same area (though different grove), Methuselah's location is kept secret to prevent vandalism because these trees are fragile. Thus, any picture claiming to be the oldest tree is simply lying.
This tree in particular is DEAD. Because the wood is absurdly sturdy and the location in the mountains helps further prevent rot, dead trees like this can stand for hundreds or even thousands of years. These trees are a type of pine tree and thus should always have some amount of foliage on them 24/7. That being said, they do have a remarkable ability to section themselves off and only allow part of the tree to die to save the rest. This is part of the reason they can end up looking so gnarled (the other part is genetics, as some trees simply seem to grow more twisted than others despite the same living conditions). However, to do this, they still need a living connection from their roots to their branches. This can be seen in the form of thin strips of bark* leading from the base of the tree to living foliage. While they don't need much to survive, this tree has no bark at all whatsoever and thus, is dead. I've seen the other side of this particular tree and there's no bark there either. *Note: It is not the bark itself that is needed for life, but rather, soft transport tissue that resides within. The tree just grows bark around the tissue to protect it. Said bark looks a lot like normal pine tree bark. Thus, no visible bark=no living tissue inside=dead tree.
This individual is actually quite famous in the grove due to its particularly gnarled shape and location on the edge of the mountain that also happens to be the edge of the area the trees grow. Not only does this make it super photogenic but it's also really easy to get to, being a short hike from the parking lot, unlike Methusela. However, it's not even in the same grove as Methusela (tho it is on the same mountain). It is a 1.5-2 hour hike to get to that grove from here. Interestingly, there's another famous tree right behind (out of frame, the camera man would need to turn like 180 degrees to see it) this one that that actually is still alive and definitely tops a few thousand years of age. Its much less gnarled meaning it doesn't get quite as much love, but it's still fascinating.
To age these trees, they don't need to cut them down. They use a special tool to take a bunch of core samples and then cross reference them with each other and other trees (there's a while field of study behind this that can tell you the history of weather patterns, fires, etc in the area with this), and use that to determine the age. While virtually every tree has been cored, with most cores currently sitting in a vault at a university (i think it's actually the university of arizona, but don't quote me on that), many still haven't been aged since it is such a lengthy process, meaning there could actually be one older than the ~4850 old current champ. Now, scientists are smart and they do think they have the oldest one based on other, less precise factors, but one of them did think they discovered an older tree about 10 years ago, but the scientist died soon after and the records and tree could not be found after.
Believe me, this only scratches the surface of the rabbit hole that is these trees! I would HIGHLY recommend taking a visit to them in Inyo county, CA if you're in the area. The long hike is hard but is 100% worth it and the people at the visitors center are a wealth of knowledge! Just be sure to respect these ancients :)
moonfarmer90 on May 22nd, 2020 at 11:20 UTC »
Methuselah, a bristlecone pine tree from California's White Mountains, is thought to be almost 5,000 years old and the oldest non-clonal tree in the world. The exact location of the gnarled, twisted Methuselah is a Forest Service secret, for its protection.
strangeloop527 on May 22nd, 2020 at 11:38 UTC »
This is not the oldest tree in the world. This is just a tribute.
Sir--Goat on May 22nd, 2020 at 15:03 UTC »
Okay, there seems to be A LOT of misinformation in this thread about this tree. I was just there in last October and can tell you a few things:
This picture is NOT of Methuselah. While it was the same kind of tree and in the same area (though different grove), Methuselah's location is kept secret to prevent vandalism because these trees are fragile. Thus, any picture claiming to be the oldest tree is simply lying.
This tree in particular is DEAD. Because the wood is absurdly sturdy and the location in the mountains helps further prevent rot, dead trees like this can stand for hundreds or even thousands of years. These trees are a type of pine tree and thus should always have some amount of foliage on them 24/7. That being said, they do have a remarkable ability to section themselves off and only allow part of the tree to die to save the rest. This is part of the reason they can end up looking so gnarled (the other part is genetics, as some trees simply seem to grow more twisted than others despite the same living conditions). However, to do this, they still need a living connection from their roots to their branches. This can be seen in the form of thin strips of bark* leading from the base of the tree to living foliage. While they don't need much to survive, this tree has no bark at all whatsoever and thus, is dead. I've seen the other side of this particular tree and there's no bark there either. *Note: It is not the bark itself that is needed for life, but rather, soft transport tissue that resides within. The tree just grows bark around the tissue to protect it. Said bark looks a lot like normal pine tree bark. Thus, no visible bark=no living tissue inside=dead tree.
This individual is actually quite famous in the grove due to its particularly gnarled shape and location on the edge of the mountain that also happens to be the edge of the area the trees grow. Not only does this make it super photogenic but it's also really easy to get to, being a short hike from the parking lot, unlike Methusela. However, it's not even in the same grove as Methusela (tho it is on the same mountain). It is a 1.5-2 hour hike to get to that grove from here. Interestingly, there's another famous tree right behind (out of frame, the camera man would need to turn like 180 degrees to see it) this one that that actually is still alive and definitely tops a few thousand years of age. Its much less gnarled meaning it doesn't get quite as much love, but it's still fascinating.
To age these trees, they don't need to cut them down. They use a special tool to take a bunch of core samples and then cross reference them with each other and other trees (there's a while field of study behind this that can tell you the history of weather patterns, fires, etc in the area with this), and use that to determine the age. While virtually every tree has been cored, with most cores currently sitting in a vault at a university (i think it's actually the university of arizona, but don't quote me on that), many still haven't been aged since it is such a lengthy process, meaning there could actually be one older than the ~4850 old current champ. Now, scientists are smart and they do think they have the oldest one based on other, less precise factors, but one of them did think they discovered an older tree about 10 years ago, but the scientist died soon after and the records and tree could not be found after.
Believe me, this only scratches the surface of the rabbit hole that is these trees! I would HIGHLY recommend taking a visit to them in Inyo county, CA if you're in the area. The long hike is hard but is 100% worth it and the people at the visitors center are a wealth of knowledge! Just be sure to respect these ancients :)