Tag: spruce
The oldest trees in the world
Older than the Pyramids, as old as Stonehenge, and ‘around the time the Polynesians settled Fiji’—these are the types of expressions used to describe the age of the world’s oldest trees.
This collection of photos and descriptions, published last week by Wired, displays some of the most ancient trees on the planet.
Scroll to the bottom to see an almost 10,000-year-old tree in Sweden that’s about the same size as Friends of Trees plants via its Neighborhood Trees program!
From Wired.com:
The world’s oldest individual tree lives 10,000 feet above sea level in the Inyo National Forest, Calif. A staggering 4,765 years old, this primeval tree was already a century old when the first pyramid was built in Egypt. The tree is hidden among other millennia-old Great Basin bristlecone pines in a grove called the Forest of Ancients. To protect the tree from vandalism, the forest service keeps its exact location secret, but this one looks like it could be Methuselah.
From Wired.com:
This cryptomeria tree’s 83-foot height and 53-foot girth makes it the largest conifer in Japan. The tree grows in a misty, old-growth forest on the north face of the tallest mountain on Yakushima island in Japan. Tree rings indicate the venerable cryptomeria is at least 2,000 years old, though some estimate it could be as old as 7,000 years.
From Wired.com:
This giant cypress lives in Abarkooh, Iran. The evergreen took root between 4,000 and 4,500 years ago, around the time that Stonehenge was being completed. It may be the oldest living thing in Asia, and is a national monument in Iran. The Zorastrian Sarv stands about 82 feet high and has a girth of 37.8 feet.
Oregon’s first heritage tree still massive
The Oregonian ran a small travel blog post yesterday about Oregon’s famous Klootchy Creek Spruce.
The main point: despite losing its upper half, the giant is still 96 feet tall and boasts the same 17-foot diameter.
The big spruce that lost its upper half in the notorious December 2007 wind storm is still a mighty big tree.
An excerpt:
The Klootchy Creek spruce, named for where it lived in Clatsop County, was the largest tree in Oregon and one of the oldest living things in the state.
It also was listed as a co-champion as the largest Sitka spruce in the United States, as recognized by American Forests, keeper of the National Tree Registry.
The Klootchy Creek spruce was the first Oregon Heritage Tree, a program started in 1995 that recognizes trees for their contribution to Oregon history and heritage.
Beneath a recent photo from The Oregonian are two photos of the same tree circa 1980, submitted by Stephen Peacock.
Pictured within the canopy about 30 years ago, Peacock is now a Portland urban forestry commissioner and local arborist.
–Toshio Suzuki