Why are trees not older than 200 years? Virgin forest. Why is there nothing like this in our vastness? Patagonian cypress or Fitzroya cypressum
For many trees, being several hundred years old is common. Centuries-old giants are found among oaks, pines, ash trees and other species.
For today's Top 10, we have chosen the oldest trees on the planet, whose age exceeds several thousand years. These venerable elders witnessed the change of generations and eras, and today they are surrounded by honor and attention, attracting tourists from all over the world.
Mistakes happen in many ways and have different consequences. Some mistakes were so colossal that - in some way - they ended up changing the world. Winston Churchill once said that history is written by the victors, but as you will see in this post, that is not always the case.
Napoleon and Hitler's invasion of Russia in winter
Napoleon Bonaparte and Adolf Hitler tried to invade Russia, but the Russians took longer than expected. The enemies fought in the notorious Russian winter. Neither Napoleon nor Hitler's army were prepared for extreme weather conditions and were eventually defeated by the Russians.
This tree is the largest on Earth. The total mass of the General Sherman is 1,900 tons, its height is 84 meters, and the girth of the trunk at the base is 31.3 meters. The age of the long-lived giant exceeds 2,500 years.
9. Fitzroya cypress Alerce (Argentina)
The age of this giant is about 3,600 years. Over the centuries, the tree has reached a height of 57.5 meters, and the diameter of its trunk is 2.3 meters. IN wildlife trees of this species grow only in South America.
Mao Zedong's order to kill sparrows
Three years later, about 45 million people died of starvation as the destruction of sparrows led to an overpopulation of insects that consumed all crops.
Student killing the world's oldest tree
To remove it, the ranger helped him cut down the tree. Kurri later began counting the rings, eventually discovering that the tree was almost 1000 years old - it was the most ancient tree ever recorded.Restorers are confident that no further work will be needed on the tower for the next two centuries. Unfortunately, the Titanic was able to sink after being struck by an iceberg, killing more than 500 of its 224 crew. Many of them died only because there were not enough lifeboats.
8. Zoroastrian Sarv (Iran)
The age of this evergreen cypress is 4 thousand years. The height of the tree is 25 meters, the circumference of the trunk is 18 meters. Iranians treat Sarv with great respect and reverence, which has been elevated to the rank of a national monument.
7. Methuselah Pine (USA)
This tree of the bristlecone pine species grows at an altitude of about 3 thousand meters above sea level. Methuselah is 4,800 years old. This is the oldest non-sprouting tree on Earth. In order to protect the tree from vandals, employees of the national park in which it grows show Methuselah only to serious scientists.
Alexander Fleming, a Scottish biologist, pharmacologist and botanist, did not care about hygiene while working. Interestingly, because of his relaxed attitude towards a clean work environment, he eventually discovered penicillin, the world's first antibiotic, after a bacterial killer appeared on his plate.
Airplane near crash after metric conversion error
Someone incorrectly converted the number of liters of fuel he consumed. After both engines lost power, the pilots made what is believed to be the first successful emergency landing of a commercial aircraft.
Lost Hunter
Newbie hunter Sergio Martinez of West Covina was lost in the woods near San Diego, so he decided to light a torch. Unfortunately, the outbreak caused what is now being called the largest fire in California history.6. Prometheus Pine (USA)
Unfortunately, all that remains of this 5,000-year-old pine tree is a stump. The tree was cut down before scientists could estimate its age. However, researchers are hopeful. That Prometheus will begin to produce new shoots in the very near future.
5. Huon pine (Tasmania)
This coniferous plant from the legcarp family has a root system with an area of 1 hectare and is about 10 thousand years old. The age of individual piglets is about 3 thousand years.
Known as the Cedar Fire, the fire burned more than 1,000 acres in San Diego. However, once the cat population began to decline, the plague became even worse - because there were no cats to kill the real carriers of the plague, the rats. Greater Prague killed nearly a thousand people, almost a quarter of London's population, in just 18 months.
Archduke Franz Ferdinand's driver makes a wrong turn
This tragedy could have been avoided if the Archduke's driver had not made a wrong turn on the way to the killer Gavrilo Princip. Amazed by his unexpected opportunity, Princip killed the Archduke and his wife.
Leaving the gates open in Constantinople
They played 15 songs, but they did not convince the company and they were rejected.4. Spruce Old Tjikko (Sweden)
According to radiocarbon dating of the tissues of the root system, the age of this spruce is 9,550 years. However, the shoots that emerged from the ancient root system celebrated only their 500th anniversary. The older shoots were probably destroyed by a forest fire many centuries ago.
The Austrian army wins
As you all know, the Beatles later became one of the most popular and successful groups of all time. The Turks, who were to become the real enemy, arrived two days later to find thousands of Austrian soldiers killed or wounded. The fire soon spread to other parts of the city, eventually destroying more than 200 houses and 87 churches.
He was eventually killed by approximately 60 members of the Senate, including his best friend Brutus. However, it quickly grew out of control due to dry weather and strong winds. More than 400 families in Los Alamos, New Mexico, lost their homes in a fire that burned for three months.
3. Creosote bush (USA)
Typically, this bushy plant of the Larrea tridentata species reaches about 3 meters in height. A Creosote bush more than 20 meters in diameter and more than 11 thousand years old was discovered in the center of the Mojave Desert.
2. Jurupa Oak (USA)
In California's Jurupa Valley, scientists discovered a huge “stump” from which grow about 70 coppice about a meter high. The age of the “stump” is about 13 thousand years. Scientists claim that the Jurupa oak witnessed the last ice age in Earth's history.
Soviet engineers burn gas
Now, 46 years later, the crater is still burning. It has truly become one of the most popular tourist attractions in the country. Although he thought he had just opened another commercial route to India, he and his men accidentally transmitted diseases to the natives, whose immune systems were not ready for the deal.
Deep sea oil spill
Ultimately, the entire indigenous population was wiped out.
Should we allow some "shitty" or historical mistakes?
More content, deeper, more interesting. And for good reason, in fact, trees are more like a forest! Why is this considered the only tree? Simply because it is a clonal colony, meaning that the roots of its thousands of poplar trees are connected in the same network and that the trees reproduce in the same way.1. Pando Poplar Colony (USA)
This tree colony may be the longest living organism on our planet. The age of the root system of these poplar thickets exceeds 80 thousand years. Although Pando visually resembles a poplar grove of individual trees, the entire colony is a single plant, the total mass of which exceeds 6,600 tons.
Asexual reproduction, cloning method
Contrary to appearances, Pando is therefore only one and the same person, endowed with a unique genetic inheritance. If this method of reproduction may seem obscure, it is not so: man has long learned to master it, for example, by making cuttings and grafting on plants.
In fact, Pando is practically immortal: when one poplar dies, which happens every 100 years, it must be replaced by another shot, another clone. However, for several decades the colony seemed to be dying. Many of the old cottonwoods have died, and too few young trunks have replaced them. Indeed, Pando's main threat is, quite simply, the wild and farmed animals that come to feed in the forest.
In contact with
By human standards, almost any modern tree can be considered a long-liver. Science has clearly established that at least fifty of them have already passed the thousand-year mark. In fact, there are many more such trees; it is simply impossible to objectively carry out a full census, including the most hidden corners of the planet. But there is no secret to the longevity of trees. They are not subject to mutations and continue to exist normally even if part of the body is lost, which is why they live long. In addition, such forest giants as pine trees do not suffer at all from old age. Some, having exchanged three thousand in age, grow no less actively than their hundred-year-old brothers nearby. When considering the history of long-lived trees, one cannot fail to mention aspen. Possessing a complex root system, it can survive even in the most unfavorable conditions. In case of powerful forest fire When the tree burns out completely, the roots will certainly allow a new tree to grow. At the same time, among long-lived trees there are record holders and unique ones.
Pando, the oldest living organism in the world?
Estimates of Pando's exact age are still up for debate: they are based on the average height of an aspen tree. Another point of contention: the title of "oldest living organism" is placed under Posidonia. The oldest trees date back to a time lost in the mists of time, when the first human tribes began to study Agriculture. The incredible stoicism of living vegetation facing the excitement of people.
Measuring tree age most often occurs through dendrochronology or carbon-14 dating. Be careful, the old trees are not bigger or bigger, far from it. This olive tree will be the oldest tree in France. It displays gallantly 20 meters in circumference and always produces small olives.
Thus, in 2012, the oldest living tree in the world was registered in California - the intermontane bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) (pictured on the left).
According to scientists' research, its age was approximately 5062 years, that is, the tree appeared even before the first pyramid in Egypt. Before this, the oldest living tree was considered to be the bristlecone pine “Methuselah”, also growing in the mountains of California; its age is 4844 years. Slightly older than “Methuselah” is the Prometheus pine (Nevada, USA). This tree was cut down in 1964 at 4862 years old and is classified as a dead tree. The stump of a felled tree is shown in the photo on the right.
The oldest olive tree in the world will be located in Vouva in western Crete. At that time, Rome had not been founded, and the Phoenicians created their first counters in Italy. The tree always produces olives. Olive trees are very resistant to disease and fire; one of the criteria that ensures long life.
The Senator is the largest and oldest bald cypress tree in the United States. Even though the cyclone destroyed its peak, it remains very impressive. At that time, on the other side of the Atlantic, Knossos, the capital of Crete, was erased from the map, probably after an earthquake and a catastrophic volcanic eruption on neighboring island Tera. Rainforests Chile experienced massive deforestation. At the time of the birth of these trees, the powerful New Egyptian Empire began, where sovereigns were buried in tombs dug into the rock of the Valley of the Kings.
In Chile, Fitzroya cypressus, or "Patagonian Cypress" grows. The age of this long-lived tree is 3622 years. The photo on the left shows Fitzroy cypress, which is 2,620 years old. The tree is located in Argentina in the province of Chubut in the Los Alerces National Park.
Abark cypress, also called Zoroastrian Sarv, is a tree in the Yazd province of Iran. It is the oldest tree in Iran and probably the oldest living organism in Asia. The tree took root in the Bronze Age and is still growing. It was at this time that stone structures, like the famous Stonehenge, were erected on the same island.
Spruce can reproduce with its branches in contact with soil forming adventitious roots, thereby producing clones. Therefore, the queen root of this tree can live for a very long time, while new shoots appear regularly. It has been able to withstand radical climate changes over the centuries.
Giant sequoias are next on the list of guardian trees. The oldest of them is 3266 years old. The famous mammoth tree “General Sherman”, which has lived in the world for almost 2,700 years, still gains one and a half centimeters in girth every year.
Tasmania's Wan Spire: 500 years old
Oldest trees: Tasmanian Hone Pines. Again, it falls into the category of clonal trees. All regrowth originates from the same root. This bush extends in the form of a bush 28 meters by 5, not exceeding 1 meter. The city reaches out to his feet and gnaws at the earth every day, there is little chance that he will stay for long.
Pando is the name given to a huge clonal colony of aspen trees located west of the United States in Utah. This 40-hectare colony is believed to be the heaviest and oldest living organism in the world, with an estimated weight of 6 million kilograms and an age of a thousand years. All shoots come from a huge system with one root.
These longevity records are broken by clonal colonies of trees, which are a single living organism, which is why they are included in the list of the oldest trees. The peculiarity of clonal colonies is that they consist only of male plants and reproduce vegetatively, have one common ancestor and are his exact genetic copies. 
The entire history of mankind is summed up in a factory: it makes us think. The history of Earth's oldest and longest trees is inextricably linked to the vicissitudes known to our society and the changes that the planet has experienced over the centuries. In every part of the world there are still millennia and centuries-old trees, solemn witnesses of all the events that they have experienced over time.
So-called "monumental trees" are plants that meet precise criteria of size, botanical rarity, shape, landscape value, prestige in terms of plant architecture and connection with historical events. And of the monumental trees, in Italy and in the world, there are indeed many, all with a fascinating past, halfway between history and legend.
Pando Trees in Utah, USA, is the oldest poplar colony on Earth, known as the "Trembling Giant" (pictured right). It unites about 50 thousand trees with a common root system and covers an area of 46 hectares. The age of the colony is 80 thousand years.
In Tasmania, in the Reed Mountains, a colony of Huon pine covers an area of 1 hectare, its age is 10,000 years, and the age of individual trees is no more than 4,000 years.
There are many monumental trees abroad that have survived through the centuries to the present day. Major Oak is a thousand-year-old oak tree in the heart of Sherwood Forest, UK, whose legend hides Robin Hood. Despite its venerable age, the colossal oak tree still exists, and every year it attracts thousands upon thousands of tourists.
Japan also has its own great giant, even surviving the atomic bomb launched in Hiroshima: this is an ultra-centenary ginkgo next to a temple that was completely destroyed during the bombing. What about the oldest Russian oak tree in Moscow, which in its 600 years of life has survived the raids of Ivan the Terrible, Napoleon, the Russian Revolution and both world conflicts.
In Sweden in national park Fulufjallet is home to the oldest clonal tree, the Norway spruce named Old Tjikko. Although its above-ground part lives only 600 years, its root system is 9550 years old. Scientists were able to discover the remains of this spruce tree, the oldest of which was 9,500 years old. Each of them gave a new shoot, from which a young spruce with the same genetic code grew. There, in the Fulu Mountains, 20 spruce trees over 8,000 years old were discovered. In the Swedish province of Härjedalen the common spruce Old Rasmus grows, its age is 9500 years.
Another powerful and unusual symbol of how the force of nature, with a lot of luck, can face and win even the most intrepid challenges. This means that they date back to the Crusades or a previous period. Second place in the special ranking of the oldest tree species of the beautiful country is the chestnut of 100 horses, which during its 000 years of life seems to have also given shelter to Joanna of Aragon and his large rider below.
In Milan, in the Montanelli Gardens, a must is a visit to the old plane tree under which Eugenio Montale and Indro Montanelli walked, going down to Romagna, to the Franciscan monastery of the Holy Cross we find a cypress tree, which, according to legend, was planted by St. Francis himself.
The oldest trees on the planet are a source of pride and admiration for the inhabitants of the countries in whose territories they grow. Here are just a few of them:
One of the oldest plants in Asia, the Sarw-e-Abarku cypress is a national monument. Its age is more than 4000 years. Another name for the tree is “Zoroastrian Sarv”. It grows in Iran, with a height of 25 meters and a trunk girth of 18 meters. In the photo on the left.
In Normandy (France) and Great Britain there are the oldest yew trees, which are about 4 thousand years old. In Germanic-Celtic mythology, these trees, planted in cemeteries, are considered sacred, so they survived even when there was a need for yew wood for 
making large bows. The photo shows the oldest yew tree in the UK, a cemetery near St. George's Church in Crowhurst in County Suray.
The famous Senator cypress (photo on the left) until recently was fifth in the ranking of the oldest trees on the planet. It was 3,500 years old when it burned down in January 2012. The cause of the fire was a fire made by a vandal near a tree. The tree was considered a landmark of the state of Florida (USA) and was located in the Big Tree Park.
The plane tree “Skhtorashen Tnjre” in Nagorno-Karabakh, which is 2000 years old, is also included in the list of the oldest trees on the planet. At its base 
there is a hollow (44 m2) that can accommodate 50 people. The trunk circumference is 27 meters, the height exceeds 54 meters. The giant's crown extends over an area of 1400 m2 and can be seen from space.
The Kauri tree "Te Matua Ngaere" ("Father of the Forest") is the oldest in New Zealand, more than 2000 years old, with a girth of 16 meters (pictured left). Grows in Waipua Forest in Northland.
Bennett Juniper (photo right), named after naturalist Clarence Bennett, is native to California's Stanislaus National Forest. Look at it every year oldest tree, whose age, according to various estimates, is from 3 to 6 thousand years, about 1,500 people come. The trunk diameter of the oldest juniper is 4 meters, height - 26 m, crown diameter - 17 m. Scientists studied a branch that fell from the main part of the tree. Its diameter was 7 cm, it had 550 annual rings. What can we say about the age of the tree itself, whose diameter is several times larger?
The oldest olive trees grow in the groves around Mediterranean Sea, some of the oldest of them are more than 2 thousand years old. Dried from the inside, they still continue to bear fruit. Some of the oldest olive trees in the Garden of Gethsemane in Jerusalem are believed to have been around during the time of Jesus. The photo on the left shows olives from the Garden of Gethsemane.
The oldest Japanese cedar (yakusugi) with the name Jomon Suji grows in Japan on the island of Yakushima (bottom photo). This Cryptomeria japonica is at least about 2300 years old. According to other estimates, the age of cryptomeria can be from 5000 to 7000 years. The oldest cryptomeria grows at an altitude of 1300 m above sea level at high point islands. The tree is included in the list World Heritage UNESCO. The volume of Jomon Suji is 300 cubic meters, height - 25.3 meters.
Ancient oak "Kongigen" in northern Denmark, over 1500 years old.
Ficus "Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi" in Sri Lanka, age 2300 years.
The chestnut tree grown in Italy is the oldest in the world. It is about 4000 years old. According to legend, more than a hundred armed knights were able to hide from heavy rain under this chestnut tree.
This list of the oldest trees on earth goes on. It is a pity that many of the trees included in it are already dead, but the living ones are sometimes attacked by vandals.