Bristlecone pine

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The bristlecone pines are a small group of pine trees (Family Pinaceae, genus Pinus, subsection Balfourianae) that can reach an age far greater than that of any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years. There are three closely related species:

Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona
Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Pinus longaeva in Utah, Nevada and eastern California
Foxtail Pine Pinus balfouriana in California

Currently, the oldest living organism known is an individual of Pinus longaeva nicknamed "Methuselah" (after Methuselah, the longest-lived person in the Bible), located in the White Mountains of eastern California, measured by core samples to be about 4,700 years old. The U.S. Forest Service does not reveal the actual position of "Methuselah" in the bristlecone grove, in order to protect the tree. A bristlecone older than "Methuselah", named "Prometheus", was cut down in 1964. The other two species are also long-lived, though not to the extreme extent of P. longaeva; specimens of both have been measured or estimated to be up to 3,000 years old.

This one might have died hundreds of years ago, but still stands. Its wood gives clues to scientists who read the rings to compare to rings of living trees, making a 10,000 year-long record.

Bristlecone pines grow in isolated groves at and just below tree-line. Because of cold temperatures, dry soils, high winds, and short growing seasons, the trees grow very slowly. The wood is very dense and resinous, and thus resistant to invasion by insects, fungi, and other potential pests. As the tree ages, much of its bark may die; in very old specimens often leaving only a narrow strip of living tissue to connect the roots to the handful of live branches.

Gnarled bristlecone pine wood

References

Bailey, D. K. 1970. Phytogeography and taxonomy of Pinus subsection Balfourianae. Ann. Missouri Bot. Gard. 57: 210-249.
Richardson, D. M. (ed.). 1998. Ecology and Biogeography of Pinus. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. 530 p. ISBN 0-521-55176-5.

External links

[ARKive - images and movies of the bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva)]
[Bristlecone pine website]
[Arboretum de Villardebelle] Images of cones (scroll to bottom of page)
[Gymnosperm Database - Pinus aristata]
[Gymnosperm Database - Pinus longaeva]
[Gymnosperm Database - Pinus balfouriana]
[Companion web site for Nova episode about the Methuselah Tree]
[Prometheus: The Martyred One]
[NOVA Online: Methuselah Tree] (PBS television program, originally broadcast on December 11, 2001)

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Bristlecone pine

See also

References

External links