Timber Titleists – The World’s Oldest and Tallest Trees

August 15, 2024

Just how old is “old”?

The average ‘old age’ for a tree can vary significantly depending on the species, environmental conditions, and other factors. However, trees generally have different life spans based on their type:

Short-Lived Trees:

Lifespan: 20 to 100 years
Examples:
- Willow (Salix species): Often live around 30 to 50 years.
- Poplar (Populus species): Typically live 20 to 50 years.
- Birch (Betula species): The average lifespan is 40 to 70 years.

Medium-Lived Trees:

Lifespan: 100 to 300 years
Examples:
- Oak (Quercus species): Many oaks can live 200 to 300 years, though some species can live much longer.
- Maple (Acer species): Generally live 100 to 200 years.
- Elm (Ulmus species): Typically lives around 150 to 300 years.

Long-Lived Trees:

Lifespan: 300 to 1,000+ years
Examples:
- Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens): Can live 1,200 to 2,200 years.
- Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum): Often live 3,000 years or more.
- Olive Tree (Olea europaea): Some olive trees are known to live over 1,000 years.
- Yew (Taxus baccata): Some yews can live over 2,000 years.

The World’s Oldest Known Trees

The world’s oldest trees are remarkable living organisms that have survived for thousands of years, bearing witness to countless historical events and environmental changes. These ancient trees are not only biological marvels but also important indicators of ecological stability and resilience.

In eastern California, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) known as Methuselah has long been considered Earth’s oldest living thing. According to tree-ring data, Methuselah is 4,853 years old — meaning it was well established by the time ancient Egyptians built the pyramids at Giza.

A grove of bristlecone pines in California’s White Mountains. © Creative Commons/Rick Goldwaser

And while Methuselah’s precise location is kept under wraps to protect it from harm, there’s much we do know about this living relic. Pinus longaeva grow at the uppermost edge of the timberline, among the windswept peaks of California, Nevada and Utah. The trees’ ability to thrive in this unforgiving landscape of freezing temperatures, arid soils and relentless winds is the key to their remarkable longevity. They draw sustenance from the most brittle layers of limestone and carbonate rock — what passes for fertile soil at high elevations. And their gnarled, twisted branches, which are shaped by fast-moving currents of mountain air, provide stability and reduce the risk of breakage during storms. Uniquely, the trees’ roots provide nourishment only to the specific section of branches directly above it. This ensures that if a root dies off due to exposure, only the corresponding segment of the tree is affected, allowing the rest to continue growing.

National Geographic reported recently that a challenger emerged to vie for Methuselah’s longevity record. In Chile, a Patagonian cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides) known as the Alerce Milenario or Gran Abuelo (great grandfather in Spanish) could be 500 years older than reigning champion Methuselah.

Dating of the Alerce Milenario was accomplished not via the traditional method of “coring” the tree — driving a thin, hollow screw through the middle of the tree to extract a core where each ring can be tallied — but using a partial ring count coupled with statistical computer modeling to make up the difference. The approach — while less risky for the tree — has left some experts unconvinced. It is interesting to note that most of the oldest trees on the planet are conifers.

Prometheus (Wheeler Peak, Nevada, USA)

Species: Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva)
Age: Estimated to be over 4,900 years old (when it was cut down)
Details: Prometheus was an ancient bristlecone pine that was felled in 1964 by a researcher, inadvertently making it the oldest known tree at the time. The tree’s rings were later analyzed to determine its age, which was found to be around 4,900 years.

Old Tjikko (Fulufjället Mountain, Sweden)

Species: Norway Spruce (Picea abies)
Age: About 9,560 years (as a clonal tree)
Details: Old Tjikko is a clonal tree, meaning it has regenerated from the same root system for thousands of years. The tree itself is relatively young, but its root system has been alive for nearly 10,000 years. This spruce is one of the oldest known living clonal organisms.

Alerce (Chile)

Species: Patagonian Cypress (Fitzroya cupressoides)
Age: Over 3,600 years
Details: The Alerce trees, native to southern Chile and Argentina, are among the oldest trees in the world. These massive trees are part of a temperate rainforest and have been harvested for their valuable wood, though some ancient specimens still survive.

Sarv-e Abarqu (Abarqu, Iran)

Species: Mediterranean Cypress (Cupressus sempervirens)
Age: Estimated to be around 4,000 years old
Details: Also known as the “Cypress of Abarqu,” this ancient tree is revered in Iran and considered a national monument. It symbolizes endurance and longevity.

Jōmon Sugi (Yakushima, Japan)

Details: Located on the island of Yakushima, Jōmon Sugi is Japan’s oldest and largest conifer. It is a UNESCO World Heritage Site, and its age is debated, with some estimates placing it over 7,000 years old.

Species: Japanese Cedar (Cryptomeria japonica) Age: Estimated between 2,170 to 7,200 years

Tallest Trees

The “Hyperion” is the tallest known living tree, standing at 379.7 feet (115.7 meters) in height. This tree would tower above the Statue of Liberty (and its pedestal) by some 20%. This coast redwood (Sequoia sempervirens) is located in a remote area of Redwood National Park in California and is estimated to be between 600 and 800 years old. Naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor discovered Hyperion in 2006, and botanist Stephen Sillett confirmed its height.

Coast Redwood (Sequoia sempervirens)

Height: Coast redwoods are the tallest trees on Earth, with some reaching heights over 370 feet (112 meters).

Trunk Diameter: They can have a trunk diameter of up to 20 feet (6 meters).

Leaves: Coast redwoods have needle-like leaves that are flat and arranged in a feathery pattern along the branches.

Bark: Their bark is thick, fibrous, and reddish-brown, providing resistance to fire and pests.

Habitat: They are native to the coastal regions of Northern California and Southern Oregon. They thrive in the moist, foggy environment provided by the Pacific Ocean.

Longevity: Some coast redwoods are more than 2,000 years old.

“General Sherman” Giant Sequoia (Sequoiadendron giganteum)

Notable Trees: The “General Sherman” tree is the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth by volume. It is about 275 feet (83.8 meters) tall and has a trunk volume of over 52,500 cubic feet (1,487 cubic meters). The tree is located at an elevation of 2,109 m (6,919 ft) above sea level in the Giant Forest of Sequoia National Park in Tulare County, in the U.S. state of California.

Height: While not as tall as coast redwoods, giant sequoias can still reach impressive heights, typically around 250 to 300 feet (76 to 91 meters).

Trunk Diameter: Giant sequoias have massive trunks, with diameters up to 30 feet (9 meters) or more, making them the largest trees by volume.

Leaves: The leaves of giant sequoias are scale-like and tightly arranged along the branches.

Bark: Their bark is also thick and reddish-brown, similar to coast redwoods, providing protection against fire.

Habitat: Giant sequoias are found in the Sierra Nevada mountains of California, usually at elevations between 5,000 and 7,000 feet (1,500 to 2,100 meters).

Longevity: Giant sequoias can live for more than 3,000 years, making them some of the oldest living trees on Earth.

Centurion, Mountain Ash

Centurion is a giant mountain ash (Eucalyptus regnans) standing in the Arve valley of Tasmania, Australia, at 330 feet (100.5 meters) tall, with a trunk diameter of 13 feet (4.05 meters). In 2019, Australia’s tallest tree was damaged by the lightning-ignited Tasmanian bushfires that burned 494,210 acres (200,000 hectares) — almost 3 percent— of the island’s land area.

Although the fires damaged the base of its trunk, Centurion seems to have pulled through, although the damage might prevent the tree from growing much taller.

Extra Credit: Video 3:33 min.)

Extra, Extra Credit: (Video3:36 min.)

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