Bristlecone pine

The oldest living tree on Earth

This pine is more than 4,800 years old — it sprouted while the Egyptian pyramids were being built! It's called 'Methuselah', and its location is kept secret so no one harms it. The tree looks twisted and half-dead, but it's alive. It grows so slowly that its wood is as hard as stone.

The Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) grows in the mountains of California, Nevada and Utah above 3,000 m, in dry, windy conditions. The Methuselah tree (White Mountains) is over 4,850 years old — the oldest known individual tree on Earth. Harsh conditions are the secret: slow growth makes dense, resinous, rot-proof wood, and only a strip of the tree may stay alive while the rest is dead. From its rings scientists have reconstructed 10,000 years of climate history (dendrochronology) and calibrated radiocarbon dating. In 1964 a student cut down the 'Prometheus' tree (4,900 years old) — protection was tightened after that.

Fun facts

• The Methuselah tree is older than the pyramids — 4,850 years.
• Its exact location is a secret known only to a few scientists.
• The tree can be 90% dead, yet a living strip keeps it going.