The Oldest Tree In The World Is In Sweden, And Its Age Is Quite Mind-Boggling
by N/A, 9 years ago |
2 min read
And you thought you were old...
Many are well aware that trees are some of the longest-living organisms on earth, but this Norwegian Spruce sets the bar at an unthinkable level.
Discovered by professor and geologist Leif Kullman in 2004, the tree is approximated to be a mind-boggling 9,550 years old.
That's right - this remarkably resilient spruce is nearly 10 millennia old. For context, it would've first been sprouting its way into existence near the end of the Ice Age, during the The Quaternary extinction event.
Named after Kullman's Siberian husky, "Old Tjikko" may not look like much, but that's par for the course of living nearly 10,000 years.
Professor of "Physical Geography" at Umeå University, in Sweden, Kullman determined the age of the tree using carbon-14 dating of its archaic root system.
Since Kullman's discovery, hundreds, if not thousands of biologists, scientists, and hikers have come to visit the incredible tree.
“During the ice age sea level was 120 meters lower than today and much of what is now the North Sea in the waters between England and Norway was at that time forest,” Kullman told Aftonbladet.
And rightfully so - to behold the world's oldest living being is an experience few can claim.
Kullman goes on to say that winds and low temperatures made Old Tjikko “like a bonsai tree…Big trees cannot get as old as this.”
Though weather-worn beyond compare, Old Tjikko stands tall and strong still to this day, undaunted by Mother Nature and all her elements.
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