These are the oldest trees that have been preserved on the planet. The wisest trees and guardians, with thousands of years of serenity and a strength that keeps them standing to this day. “There is nothing more exemplary and holier than a beautiful and strong tree”Herman Hesse.
1. Methuselah
This long-lived pine (or bristlecone pine) is 4,841 years old. It is officially the oldest living organism in the world. It is found somewhere in the White Mountains of California, however its specific location is being kept a secret to protect it from the public (an older species called Prometheus, which was about 4,900 years old, was felled by a researcher in 1964 with the permission of the US Forest Service).
2. Yew Llangernyw
This impressive yew tree resides in a small graveyard at St. Dygain’s Church, in Llangernyw, Wales. Nearly 4,000 years old, the yew was planted sometime in the Prehistoric Bronze Age, and is still growing. In 2002, in celebration of Queen Elizabeth II’s Golden Jubilee, the tree was designated as one of the 50 Important English Trees by the Council on Trees.
3. Zaroastrian Sarv
Also called Sarv-e Abarqu, is a cypress that lives in the province of Yartz, in Iran. The tree is estimated to be at least 4,000 years old and, having seen the entire history of civilization pass, is considered an Iranian national monument. Most likely this beautiful cypress is the oldest living organism in Asia.
4. The Senator
Located in Florida, the Senator is the oldest bald cypress in the United States, and is considered to be the oldest of its kind. It is estimated to be around 3,500 years old. Its size is really impressive since it has survived several hurricanes, including one in 1925 in which it reduced its size to 40 feet.
5. Larch
Alerce is a common name for the Fitzroy cupressaceae species, a towering tree native to the Andes. It is difficult to know how many years these trees can live, as most of the tallest specimens were felled in the 19th and 20th centuries. Many botanists believe they are the second longest-living trees on Earth after the North American bristlecone. As of today, the oldest of all is 3,640 years old.
6. Patriarch of the Forest
This tree, an example of the Cariniana legalis species, inhabits Brazil and is estimated to be around 3,000 years old. It is believed to be sacred, but its species is in serious danger due to deforestation in Brazil, Colombia and Venezuela.
7. The olive tree of Vouves
This ancient olive tree is on the island of Crete, in Greece, and is one of only seven olive trees in the Mediterranean that are at least 2,00 years old. Although its exact age cannot be verified, the Vouves olive tree could be the oldest of them, estimated at more than 3,000 years. It still produces olives, which are highly valued. Olive trees are resistant to fire, floods and diseases, which is partly why they can live for so many years and continue to bear delicious fruit.
8. The Chestnut of the hundred horses
This tree, located on Mount Edna in Sicily, is the largest and oldest chestnut tree in the world. It is believed to be between 2,000 and 4,000 years old, and is particularly shocking as Mount Edna has some of the strongest volcanic activity in the world. The tree resides just 8 kilometers from Edna Crater. Its name originates from the legend in which a company of 100 knights fell victim to a severe electrical storm and were able to take shelter under this massive tree. It is listed by the Guinness World Records as the world’s widest trunk, at 190 feet in circumference.
9. Jomon Sugi
Located in Yakushima, Japan, this is the largest and oldest cryptometria tree (a genus of conifer) on the island, and is one of the main reasons why UNESCO declared the site a World Heritage Site. The tree is at least 2,000 years old, but some experts believe it could be up to 5,000. Under that theory, Jomon Sugi may be the oldest tree on Earth.
10. Te Matua Ngahere
This giant tree is in Waipoua Forest, New Zealand. At 16m in circumference, it is the widest in New Zealand. They put more or less 2000 years. This type of tree is called kauri. It is the second largest kauri in New Zealand, and the oldest. You can visit this tree on a trail through the forest, although you are not allowed to go off the trail because kauri have pressure-sensitive roots that grow near the surface. This tree has a height of 29.9 meters. It has smooth bark and small leaves. This tree is a type of kauri, or ‘agathis australis’, a species indigenous to the North Island of New Zealand. Rivals California redwoods in trunk diameter.
11. General Sherman
This tree in California’s Sequoia National Park is the height of a 27-story building, or 83.8 meters. It is also considered the largest tree by volume in the world. They have put up to 2700 years of age. When establishing the volume of a sequoia, only the trunk is calculated. The General Sherman has 1,486.6 cubic meters of volume. It has a diameter of 7.7 meters. This tree was named for General William Tecumseh Sherman, a general in the 9th Indiana Cavalry. The circumference of this tree on the ground is 31.3 meters. Its trunk has a weight of 1,385 tons. This is what 19,000 people would weigh. It is for a reason that trees were considered by the ancients as a meeting point between the three spheres: earth, water and sky. It is also an axis for the organization of the cosmos, according to certain beliefs. Sequoias have a reddish trunk, which is one of their main characteristics. That is why in English they are called “redwoods”, or red wood trees. Redwoods are small-leaved conifers. They grow all over the world, although the most magnificent specimens are on the western seaboard of the United States.
12. tule tree
The Tule Tree is the tree with the largest trunk diameter in the world. It is an ahuehuete (taxodium mucronatum) with a circumference of approximately 42 meters and a height of 40 meters. With a diameter of 14.05 meters, it is estimated that at least 30 people would be needed with their hands intertwined to cover its trunk and approximately 500 people fit in its shadow. Its volume is estimated at about 816,829 m³, with a weight of approximately 636 tons. When the cutting of inert wood began in 1996, 10 tons were produced. It is located in the atrium of the church of Santa María del Tule in Oaxaca, Mexico, approximately 12 km from the state capital, Oaxaca de Juárez.
Source: http://articulossaberyocio.blogspot.com.ar/ http://www.ecoosfera.com/