In 1997, Julia Hill set a record for being in a tree. Thus, she wanted to draw public attention to the problem of forest conservation. It is not known how much she achieved her goal, but she managed to save the red giant tree from cutting. It is worth knowing that plants do not suffer from age-related diseases, unlike people. Over time, one part may die, the other - grow over the centuries.
Probably, each of us in childhood was told that some types of plants can live for hundreds of years. However, not even all adults know that the oldest tree is almost 10, 000 years old. In Sweden, Old Tjikko spruce grows on Mount Fulu, whose age was estimated by scientists. When they first talked about it, the age of the tree was “only” several thousand years. Of course, its trunk is periodically updated, but the roots of the plant originated 100 centuries ago.
The question that scientists could not answer for a long time about how the oldest tree in the world was able to survive all the climatic changes in the world, found its explanation in the fact that Old Tjikko died for a certain period of time, and under favorable conditions it again escaped. It was this that caused the erroneousness of the first judgment of scientists about the age of spruce.
Until the forties of the twentieth century, it was a trunk that
stood out against the background of a few greenery. At the same time, a favorable change in weather conditions led to the fact that the tree began to grow again.
Until the exact age of the spruce was determined, the oldest tree in the world was represented by Methuselah pine. It grows in the California National Preserve, but the exact location is kept secret from the public. However, it is known that it grows at an altitude of more than three thousand meters above sea level. The name of the plant was given in honor of the biblical character, whose earthly path was 969 years. Methuselah is currently considered the oldest non-cloned living organism on
planet earth. According to scientists, his life began in 2831 BC. e.
Some researchers, as a contender for the title of "oldest tree on earth, " put forward the intermountain pine Prometheus. She grew up on Mount Wheeler Peak in the USA. Presumably this plant was more than 5000 years old, but the exact age has remained a mystery. It was discovered in 1958 by naturalists, who named it in honor of the mythological character Prometheus.
In 1963, Donald Curry, a researcher, came to this area with the aim of studying the plant world. Here he came across the oldest tree described and gave it a name - WPN - 114. Using the technology of that time, the scientist proved that the plant is at least 3-4 thousand years old. In 1964, D. Curry, with the consent of the US Forest Service (USFS), cuts down a pine and divides it into parts, which were later sent to different laboratories. Currently, parts of Prometheus can be seen in various American museums. And in the place where the oldest tree grew, now there is only a stump left. For what purpose the scientist needed to destroy the whole plant - is unknown.
