Methuselah is a -year-old
Great Basin bristlecone pine
''Pinus longaeva'' (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine) is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and ...
(''Pinus longaeva'') tree growing high in the
White Mountains of
Inyo County
Inyo County () is a county in the eastern central part of the U.S. state of California, located between the Sierra Nevada and the state of Nevada. In the 2020 census, the population was 19,016. The county seat is Independence. Inyo County ...
in eastern
California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
.
It is recognized as the non-
clonal tree with the greatest confirmed age in the world.
The tree's name refers to the biblical patriarch
Methuselah
Methuselah () ( he, מְתוּשֶׁלַח ''Məṯūšélaḥ'', in pausa ''Məṯūšālaḥ'', "His death shall send" or "Man of the javelin" or "Death of Sword";
gr, Μαθουσάλας ''Mathousalas'') was a biblical patriarch and a f ...
, who ostensibly lived to 969 years of age, thus becoming synonymous with longevity or old age in many European languages including English.
Geography
Methuselah is located between above sea level in the "Methuselah Grove" in the
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains (California), White Mountains in Inyo County, California, Inyo County in eastern California.
Geography
The forest is east of the Owens Valley, high on the easter ...
within the
Inyo National Forest
Inyo National Forest is a United States National Forest covering parts of the eastern Sierra Nevada of California and the White Mountains of California and Nevada. The forest hosts several superlatives, including Mount Whitney, the highest po ...
. The
United States Forest Service
The United States Forest Service (USFS) is an agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture that administers the nation's 154 national forests and 20 national grasslands. The Forest Service manages of land. Major divisions of the agency in ...
does not disclose its exact location.
Status as oldest known tree
Methuselah was 4,789 years old when sampled in 1957 by Edmund Schulman and Tom Harlan,
[ with an estimated germination date of 2833 BC. Since this tree ages back to this date, using tree rings, research shows precipitation patterns that date back to 1983 BC.
Dendrochronologist Matthew Salzer of the University of Arizona has been unable to reproduce Schulman's age estimate, due to a missing core. Salzer's estimate is approximately years old.
]
Other bristlecones
Another bristlecone specimen, WPN-114, nicknamed "Prometheus
In Greek mythology, Prometheus (; , , possibly meaning " forethought")Smith"Prometheus". is a Titan god of fire. Prometheus is best known for defying the gods by stealing fire from them and giving it to humanity in the form of technology, kn ...
", was more than 4,844 years old when cut down in 1964, with an estimated germination date of 2880 BC. A dendrochronology, based on these trees and other bristlecone pine
The term bristlecone pine covers three species of pine tree (family Pinaceae, genus ''Pinus'', subsection ''Balfourianae''). All three species are long-lived and highly resilient to harsh weather and bad soils. One of the three species, ''Pinus ...
samples, extends back to about 9000 BC, albeit with a single gap of about 500 years.
Clonal organisms
Other, longer-lived organisms are clonal colonies
A clonal colony or genet is a group of genetically identical individuals, such as plants, fungi, or bacteria, that have grown in a given location, all originating vegetatively, not sexually, from a single ancestor. In plants, an individual in s ...
, such as a quaking aspen (''Populus tremuloides'') colony named "Pando" in the Fish Lake National Forest in south-central Utah
Utah ( , ) is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. Utah is a landlocked U.S. state bordered to its east by Colorado, to its northeast by Wyoming, to its north by Idaho, to its south by Arizona, and to it ...
that has been estimated to be 80,000 years old, although precise estimates of clonal organisms such as this aspen colony are impossible with current technologies, and other scientific attempts to age Pando have estimated it may be much younger; the 11,700-year-old creosote bush (''Larrea tridentata'') colony, named "King Clone
King Clone is thought to be the oldest Larrea tridentata, creosote bush ring in the Mojave Desert. The ring is estimated to be 11,700 years old, making it one of the List of long-living organisms, oldest living organisms on Earth. This single c ...
", in the Mojave Desert
The Mojave Desert ( ; mov, Hayikwiir Mat'aar; es, Desierto de Mojave) is a desert in the rain shadow of the Sierra Nevada mountains in the Southwestern United States. It is named for the indigenous Mojave people. It is located primarily ...
near the Lucerne Valley
Lucerne Valley is a census-designated place (CDP) and valley landform in the southern Mojave Desert, in western San Bernardino County, California.
Geography
The geographic valley is defined by the surrounding Granite Mountains, Ord Mountains, ...
in California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
; and the 9,500-year-old Norway spruce (''Picea abies'') colony named "Old Tjikko
Old Tjikko is a 9,550 year-old Norway spruce, located on Fulufjället Mountain of Dalarna province in Sweden. Old Tjikko originally gained fame as the "world's oldest tree." Old Tjikko is, however, a clonal tree that has regenerated new trun ...
" in Sweden
Sweden, formally the Kingdom of Sweden,The United Nations Group of Experts on Geographical Names states that the country's formal name is the Kingdom of SwedenUNGEGN World Geographical Names, Sweden./ref> is a Nordic country located on ...
. Methuselah, however, is the oldest known non-clonal organism for which a reliable age has been established, although the Llangernyw Yew
The Llangernyw Yew () is an ancient yew (''Taxus baccata'') in the village of Llangernyw, Conwy, North Wales. The tree is fragmented and its core part has been lost, leaving several enormous offshoots. The girth of the tree at the ground level is ...
in Wales (4,000 – 5,000 years old) and especially the Fortingall Yew
The Fortingall Yew is an ancient European yew (''Taxus baccata'') in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. Considered one of the oldest trees in Britain, modern estimates place its age at an average of 5,000 years ...
in Scotland (3,000 – 9,000 years old) have some age estimates exceeding that of Methuselah.
See also
* List of individual trees
* List of oldest trees
References
{{reflist, 33em
Individual pine trees
Individual trees in California
Inyo National Forest
White Mountains (California)
Natural history of Inyo County, California
History of California
Landmarks in California
Pinus longaeva, Methuselah
Oldest trees