Oldest known living tree

What to remember

In the White Mountains of eastern California, a bristlecone pine has reached 4,858 years. Methuselah is the non-clonal tree with the greatest confirmed age in the world.

The tree, a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva), grows high in Inyo County. Harsh weather and a lack of nutrients are what explain its longevity: they slow down the decaying process. It has been regarded since 1964 as one of the oldest non-clonal living organisms.

The tree's name refers to the biblical patriarch Methuselah, said to have reached 969 years of age, a name that became synonymous with old age in many European languages.