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The oldest tree and an elephant back from extinction



  3. covelogibbs
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The oldest tree. Sometime around 7542 B.C., a spruce tree started growing on Fulu Mountain in Sweden. It is still growing. Spruce trees can produce exact clones of each other, and while the currently visible part of the tree is not 9,550 years old, scientists found pieces of wood beneath it that are that old with exactly the same genetic makeup as the above-ground part of the tree.
covelogibbs

8 responses // The oldest tree and an elephant back from extinction

  • Interesting that a tree has survived that long, due possibly to the limited human contact atop the mountain.
    lifestudentno83
  • I wonder how much carbon this tree has absorbed in it's lifetime?

    And yes, limited human (and possibly Animal?) contact has helped that tree survive. I also have to wonder if there were human settlements at any time around this tree -- how many of it's neighbors were chopped down for firewood or shelter?
    jpfdeuce
  • Very interesting.
    VoyagerFilms
  • This is rediculous
    ohmankidvicious
  • Its amazing to me that we can enjoy this planet without destroying it from time to time. This tree is one example.
    without_prejudice
  • ohmankidvicious, what makes you think that this is ridiculous? The science behind the estimation of the age of this tree (or rather, its roots) is sound. Can you demonstrate, using incontrovertible empirical evidence, that it is ridiculous?
    Vierotchka
  • vier, i'd imagine it was a statement made in jest to state how unbelievable it is to find something this old. it would be ridiculous to most people considering we can't fathom a time period that long for a single life form to exist and not cease to be
    diode
  • I think it is totally awesome that we can know that there is still living on this planet something ancient...that survival can be counted in generations, that this tree's lifespan is still unknown. Very cool. However, now that the tree is found and known, please leave it alone.
    LindaBusiness

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