Trees are among the organisms that live a longer life on Earth.
The list of the oldest trees in the world is not consensual, it varies according to the method of dating and databases used by each research team.
After crossing information, we chose to enumerate the oldest living trees in accordance with the dating techniques called cross-dating, which is based on the observation of patterns matching the width and length between colors from the same tree rings, and between the trees from different locations, and radiocarbon-14 test, which determines the age of the sample by measuring the amount of carbon-14 which decreases as time goes by.
In this list are not included other very ancient trees that we found in our researches, because their dating is not strict enough to enable us to determine their exact order.
Thus, we restricted ourselves to trees dated according to the aforementioned scientific methods.
We will know now a little more about these wonderful beings that made and still do, make possible for us humans to be around.
Meet the 10 oldest trees in the world still alive, from the oldest to the most recent:
10. Miles Juniper
This Juniperus occidentalis is a tree native from the western United States.
The Juniperus occidentalis shoots are of moderate thickness among junipers, 1-1.6 mm diameter. The coloration of the bark is red-brown to brown, and presents green leaves, abaxial glands ovate to elliptic, with yellow or white exudate, margins denticulate.
The oldest specimen is called Miles Juniper and counts on 1810 years of age. It grows in Sierra Nevada, California, USA.
9. Rocky Mountain Juniper
This Juniperus Scopulorum resembles the eastern red cedar because of its bark. The foliage is bluish-green. Gives large fruits of dark blue which may take up to two years to mature.
This hardy tree is very drought tolerant, has a heat tolerance of high and medium and low water requirements. These trees can grow to be 50 feet high and 30 feet wide.
The oldest one alive on earth is already 1889 years old and lives in the Northern New Mexico, USA.
8. Subalpine Larch
With 1919 years old today, the respectable Larix lyalli is located on Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada.
The branches are irregularly twisted and spaced.It has a straight trunk with a sparse and somewhat conical crown. Its twigs are hairy and the needles are four-angled. Over time, the trunk has become furrowed scaly in small plates, and darkened.
7. SHP 7
We’re talking about Pinus balfouriana (foxtail pine family), which is a species of pine native to the New World.
It is 2110 years old, and stands on Sierra Nevada, California. Its branches are short and thick in diameter.
Like all conifers adapted to stressful habitats, it has persistent needles and grows slowly.
6. Bennett Juniper
It is the oldest specimen of the specie Juniperus occidentalis with around 2200 years old. It is located in the Stanislaus National Forest of California, measuring 26 m and with a diameter of 3.88 m.
5. Rocky Mountain Bristlecone Pine
Meet this 2435 years old Pinus aristata, situated on Black Mountain, near South Park, Central Colorado, USA. Its main characteristics are its twisted trunk and red-brown color of its branches. It is the oldest one of the 12 specimens found in the same park.