I learned this summer bristlecone pines are among the longest lived life forms on earth. The oldest known non-clonal tree in the world is a bristlecone pine, named Methuselah, in California over 4800 years old. Its exact location is a closely guarded secret since the last oldest tree, also a bristlecone pine, was accidentally cut down.
It’s on protected land. Also maybe I’m just lucky or something but the location isn’t thaaaaat secret if you pass the vibe check and get to know some people. I’ve talked to two different forestry workers who have seen the tree, and I’m just an ordinary outdoorsy dude who talks to people.
Yeah I was surprised to learn as well that a lot of trees grown for lumber only live for 15-30 years depending on the species. At some point it just won’t grow as fast anymore and it’s better to cut it down and replace it with a new tree that can grow fast again. Some might take longer, but that increases the price a lot, so the demand for those is shorter.
The average lifespan of trees is also relatively short in relation to their maximum age. A tree takes up a lot of room, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of access to the sunlight and nutrients. So the big trees we see are the survivors, for each of those probably at least 100 smaller trees didn’t make it. Trees can also easily die due to disease, infestations or other mishaps. Some trees like elm could live a very long life, but depending on the region usually don’t make it past 100 because the chance they get a disease or fungus that kills them within that time.
I was surprised to learn this summer that birch trees can have short lifespans. Paper birch might only live like 30 to 40 years when grown as a crop.
I learned this summer bristlecone pines are among the longest lived life forms on earth. The oldest known non-clonal tree in the world is a bristlecone pine, named Methuselah, in California over 4800 years old. Its exact location is a closely guarded secret since the last oldest tree, also a bristlecone pine, was accidentally cut down.
Keeping it secret doesn’t help against accidentally cutting it down, no?
It’s on protected land. Also maybe I’m just lucky or something but the location isn’t thaaaaat secret if you pass the vibe check and get to know some people. I’ve talked to two different forestry workers who have seen the tree, and I’m just an ordinary outdoorsy dude who talks to people.
Sure, “accidentally”.
Well sort of. The researcher got permission, but they didn’t realize it was going to be the oldest tree ever recorded or they wouldn’t have done it.
sweating profusely while counting rings
Destructive research. “We need to cut this tree up to know if it’s a valuable really old tree”
Yeah I was surprised to learn as well that a lot of trees grown for lumber only live for 15-30 years depending on the species. At some point it just won’t grow as fast anymore and it’s better to cut it down and replace it with a new tree that can grow fast again. Some might take longer, but that increases the price a lot, so the demand for those is shorter.
The average lifespan of trees is also relatively short in relation to their maximum age. A tree takes up a lot of room, not just in terms of size, but also in terms of access to the sunlight and nutrients. So the big trees we see are the survivors, for each of those probably at least 100 smaller trees didn’t make it. Trees can also easily die due to disease, infestations or other mishaps. Some trees like elm could live a very long life, but depending on the region usually don’t make it past 100 because the chance they get a disease or fungus that kills them within that time.
My favorite clip about old-growth forests explains how there are trees of all ages in a proper forest.
Very sad we don’t have many of those any more :(
Even when not grown as a crop, alders, willows, and birches tend to have a more ‘human’ lifespan, around a century or so.
Then on the other end of the spectrum, there are trees like yews, sequoias, and bristlecone pines, which live for millennia.