For many trees several hundred years old is common. Centuries-old giants are found among oaks, pines, ash trees and other species.
For today's Top 10, we have chosen the oldest trees on the planet, whose age is more than several thousand years. These venerable elders witnessed the change of generations and eras, and today they are surrounded by honor and attention, attracting tourists from all over the world.
10. Sequoia General Sherman (USA)
This tree is the largest on earth... The total mass of General Sherman is 1,900 tons, its height is 84 meters, and the girth of the trunk at the base is 31.3 meters. The age of the long-lived giant is over 2,500 years.
9. Fitzroy cypress Alerce (Argentina)
The age of this giant is about 3600 years. Over the centuries, the tree has reached a height of 57.5 meters, and its trunk diameter is 2.3 meters. In the wild, trees of this species grow only in South America.
8. Zoroastrian Sarv (Iran)
The age of this evergreen cypress is 4 thousand years. The height of the tree is 25 meters, the circumference of the trunk is 18 meters. The Iranians have great respect and reverence for Sarv, which has been elevated to the rank of a national monument.
7.Pine Methuselah (USA)
This bristlecone pine tree grows about 3 thousand meters above sea level. Methuselah is 4,800 years old. This is the oldest tree on Earth of non-coarse origin. In order to protect the tree from vandals, the employees of the national park in which it grows show Methuselah only to serious scientists.
6. Pine Prometheus (USA)
Unfortunately, only a stump remained from this 5,000-year-old pine tree. The tree was cut down before scientists could estimate its age. However, the researchers are hopeful. That Prometheus will begin to give new shoots in the very near future.
5. Huon pine (Tasmania)
This coniferous plant from the legcarpe family has a root system with an area of 1 hectare and an age of about 10 thousand years. The age of individual piglets is about 3 thousand years.
4. Spruce Old Tjikko (Sweden)
According to the data of radiocarbon analysis of the tissues of the root system, the age of this spruce is 9,550 years. However, the growth that emerged from the ancient root system only celebrated its 500th anniversary. The older scions were probably destroyed by a forest fire many centuries ago.
3. Shrub Creosote (USA)
Usually this bushy plant from the species Larrea tridentata reaches about 3 meters in height. In the center of the Mojave Desert, a Creosote bush with a diameter of more than 20 meters was discovered, which is more than 11 thousand years old.
2. Jurupa Oak (USA)
In the Jurupa Valley of California, scientists have discovered a huge "stump" from which grows about 70 grasslands about a meter high. The age of the "stump" is about 13 thousand years. Scientists claim that the Jurupa oak witnessed the last ice age in the history of the Earth.
1. Pando Poplar Colony (USA)
This tree colony is possibly the longest living organism on our planet. The age of the root system of these thickets of poplars exceeds 80 thousand years. Although visually Pando resembles a poplar grove of free-standing trees, the entire colony is a single plant, the total weight of which exceeds 6,600 tons.