Fact 171: What is the single oldest living thing on earth?
Fact 171: What is the single oldest living thing on earth?
* equals more information lower down.
The answer is the Great basin bristlecone pine, The oldest living Great basin bristlecone pine is called Methuselah the tree is named after *Methuselah a person in the bible, who lived for 969 years and the tree is 4,765 years old. It lives in a secret location in the White Mountain range of eastern California. This tree is about 1,000 years older than any other bristlecone trees still alive today and when it was just started sprouting stone Heng was just starting to be built.
The Great Basin bristlecone pine, is so old that they are gnarled, gnarled means twisted due to ageing the gnarled look is caused by the tree slightly die slowly in parts so it can stay alive and this is normally due to the tree being at a high elevation or altitude (being high up).
The Great Basin bristlecone pine's scientific name is Pinus longaeva.
According to (National Park Utah &) The Natural Park Service website:
"Often they will die in portions. As the roots become exposed they will dry out and die. The tree directly connected above those roots will eventually die as well. The remainder of the tree will continue to live. This is among the causes that create the twisted tortured look of the trees."
*Methuselah's age of 969 years old is a result of an ancient mistranslation and that converted "months" to "years" 969 lunar months, is 78½ years or 78.398 years
