No other living things on Earth grow as old as trees. Tree colonies can live up to around astounding 80,000 years. While individual trees don’t live that long, they, too, can survive astonishing thousands of years. Even in our day and age, where human involvement makes survival significant harder for trees, there are still some ancient old trees that have survived several millennia and more.
The following shows the 10 oldest living trees in the world. The ranking only acknowledges non-clonal trees that are still alive and which ages have been officially and scientifically confirmed.
The 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World
1. Old Hara
5,069 years old
Location: White Mountains, California, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine
The oldest confirmed and living tree in the world can be found in the White Mountains of California, USA. The bristlecone pine, named Old Hara, was discovered only in 2013 and found out to be the first ever studied individual and non-clonal living tree to be more than 5,000 years old.
2. Methuselah Tree
4,851 years old
Location: White Mountains, California, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine
Before the discovery of the Old Hara, the Methuselah tree was officially known as the oldest living tree on planet Earth. It is also located in the White Mountains of California, not far away from Old Hara. It, too, is a bristlecone pine. The tree was named after Methuselah, the biblical figure who supposedly was the grandfather of Noah and who, according to the Bible, lived 969 years. That is still almost 4,000 years shorter than the tree version.
3. Gran Abuelo
3,648 years old
Location: Cordillera Pelada, Los Rios, Chile
Species: Fitzroya Cypress
Living and growing for over 3,600 years, the Gran Abuelo (“Great Grandfather”) is the oldest known tree outside the United States. It is located in the Cordillera Pelada mountain range of the Los Rios region of Chile. The tree is a Fitzroya cypress and therefore also the oldest living non-pine tree of the world.
4. BLK227
2,625 years old
Location: Black River, North Carolina, USA
Species: Bald Cypress
The fourth oldest known tree in the world has only been discovered in 2019 in the Black River region of North Carolina, USA. The ancient tree is a Bald Cypress and over 2,600 years old. For now, the tree has not been properly names and is therefore still known under its scientific name BLK227.
5. CB-90-11
2,462 years old
Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine
The fifth oldest known and living non-clonal tree is yet again another bristlecone pine. However, the CB-90-11 is not growing in the White Mountains of California, but in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. The pine tree is over 2,400 years old and with that impressive age closes the Top 5 of the oldest living trees known on our planet.
6. Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi
2,305 years old
Location: Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Species: Sacred Fig
7. Benett Juniper
2,201 years old
Location: Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Species: Western Juniper
8. SHP 7
2,111 years old
Location: Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Species: Foxtail Pine
9. BLK232
2,089 years old
Location: Black River, North Carolina, USA
Species: Bald Cypress
10. Unnamed Tree
1,945 years old
Location: Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada
Species: Subalpine Larch
The 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World
(at a glance)
(as of October 2009)
| Top 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World: |
|---|
| 1. OLD HARA White Mountains, California, USA 5,069 years old |
| 2. METHUSELAH TREE White Mountains, California, USA 4,851 years old |
| 3. GRAN ABUELO Cordillera Pelada, Los Rios, Chile 3,648 years old |
| 4. BLK227 Black River, North Carolina, USA 2,625 years old |
| 5. CB-90-11 Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA 2,462 years old |
| 6. JAYA SRI MAHA BODHI Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka 2,305 years old |
| 7. BENETT JUNIPER Sierra Nevada, California, USA 2,201 years old |
| 8. SHP 7 Sierra Nevada, California, USA 2,111 years old |
| 9. BLK232 Black River, North Carolina, USA 2,089 years old |
| 10. Unnamed Tree Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada 1,945 years old |