These are the world's oldest living trees

Have you ever wondered which are the oldest trees in the world? It is not as easy an answer as you may think at first. In fact, it is much more complicated than it seems.

And it is that, although there is a ranking of the oldest trees in the world on Wikipedia, and you could use it to find out the oldest ones, it is enough to ask a simple question on Google and many more will suddenly appear. So here you have a selection of them, but surely there are more.

Old Tjikko, Sweden

Old Tjikko is the name by which we have found the oldest tree in the world. And it is that, according to the carbon 14 test, to which they subjected this tree, it is more than 9500 years old.

Now, it's a bit "cheaty". And it is that that age is the one that the roots have. It is a Picea abies and it is so long-lived only in the part of the roots. It turns out that the trunk and all that can be seen of this tree is much younger, just a few hundred years old.

That is why perhaps they do not consider it one of the oldest trees in the world. But it's not to blame this tree to be able to regenerate over time and grow at the root level.

Sunland Baobab, South Africa

Another of the oldest trees in the world that we find browsing the Internet, and older than that almost everyone knows it as the oldest, it is a gigantic baobab tree, so big that inside it there is a bar with a games room. And it even came to have its website (don't try to look it up because apparently it's not there anymore).

The Great Grandfather, Chile

It is actually a Millennial Larch. This 2023 will be 5485 years old and this is said to be the oldest tree in the world.

It is located in the Alerce Costero National Park and right now you can see that it is beginning to deteriorate, which is why scientists estimate that it will not have long to live (although a few hundred may be).

Visually it is a great tree. So much so that it measures 50 meters and has a trunk with a perimeter of 11 centimeters.

Methuselah, California

Or Methuselah, as it may also be known, has been considered for many years to be the oldest (non-cloned) tree in the world. However, if we take into account that the previous one is even older, as long as the theory by which the age has been estimated is confirmed, we would be facing the second. It is a Pinus longaeva located in the White Mountains (the exact location is not known to prevent people from flocking to see it).

Patagonian Cypresses

We continue with more oldest trees in the world. In this case we have found a group of Austrocedrus chilensis) native to Argentina and Chile. It was estimated, at first, that they were about 3600 years old.

However, subsequent research on them has led to analyzes warning that they are, with an 80% chance, trees over 5000 years old (it has been estimated that they are about 5400 years old).

Yew Llangernym, Europe

We moved to Europe, specifically to Llangernym, in Wales. Here is a yew tree which, from what they have dated, it is over 4000 years old. It is a large tree, 13 meters long and with a circumference of 11.

However, it is accompanied by a legend. Apparently he is cursed. Located next to a church, where a spirit lives, Angelystor, who predicts on Halloween which people will die the following year.

Sarv-e Abarqu, Iran

Also known as Zoroastrian Sarv, it is a cypress that can be found in Yazd, in Iran, and quand is estimated to be about 4000 years old. This is said to be the oldest tree in Asia.

Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi, Sri Lanka

This tree is not as old as the previous ones, since it is estimated to be about 2309 years old. However, we want you to know about it because it is the only tree that is known to have been planted by humans, and also the exact date it was made.

Apparently it is said of him that he was a child of the Bodhi tree in which the Buddha became enlightened. This offspring came into the hands of Sanghamitra, the daughter of Emperor Ashoka who, around 288 BC. she planted it. And to this day he is still alive.

Olive tree from Vouves, Greece

On the island of Crete grows one of the oldest olive trees, and still active, because it throws olives and everything. It is estimated to be between 2000 and 3000 years old, although the exact age cannot be known.

Millennial yew tree, Jaén

If we go even closer, specifically to Spain. We find a yew tree that is over 2000 years old. It is located in the Sierra de Cazorla, in Jaén.

Visually it is said to be twice the height and width of a normal yew.

If you want to see it, you will have to look for the route Sendero de los Tejos Milenarios on foot. After about 30 minutes you will be able to reach a place full of yew trees but there will be one that will stand out from the others. That is this tree.

millennial cedar

And since in Spain we like to do double things, In the Canary Islands we find another of the oldest trees in the world, over 1400 years old.

Named Patriarch (although in reality it is known to be female and should be Matriarch), we are talking about a Juniperus cedrus that lives in the Montaña Rajada, in the Teide National Park, in Tenerife.

So if you thought that the oldest would be from Drago millenario, we are sorry but no. This one is just over 800 years old.

As you see, There are many of the oldest trees in the world. And that we have only told you about those that are alive, since at this point many other trees have been perishing. Do you know any more that we have not mentioned?