A photo from open sources
For a long time, the oldest tree on Earth was considered a giant sequoia that has lived in the world for at least 2,000 years. Today Methuselah is the long-lived record holder among the trees – legendary pine Bristlecon in California, whose age exceeds 4,000 years.
Thanks to Edmund Shulman in 1957, the tree was officially named the largest in the world, and after it became considered the most old. Shulman found out the age of the pine by obtaining samples of wood (with using a hammer) near the base of its trunk. Judging by annual rings, now Methuselah should be 4838 years old. Later the researcher was able to detect over a dozen green centenarians who are more than 4000 years old.
A photo from open sources
However, we make a reservation that Methuselah might not have recognized the pine the oldest tree on the planet, if not for the negligence of the young the graduate student who killed Prometheus is another unique tree, whose age was about 5000 years. Donald R. Currey taking samples of wood Prometheus in 1964, could not get back your broken drilling tool. US Forest Service, to which Donald asked for advice, allowed him to cut down part Prometheus trunk and take the samples for further studying. When the age of the tree became known, Donald was horrified from what he did.
All centenarians growing in America are protected by law. Their location was not disclosed to avoid acts of vandalism. For example, the only tree in the Sahara desert – the acacia tenere was destroyed by a drunken barbarian. For this reason, not a single photo with depicting Methuselah does not allow to understand exactly where tree: its coordinates are kept secret.
A photo from open sources
