Man, Tree is Old

“By Roger Highfield, Science Editor
Last Updated: 2:01pm BST 17/04/2008

The world's oldest tree has been found in Sweden, a tenacious spruce that first took root just after the end of the last ice age, more than 9,500 years ago.

The tree has rewritten the history of the climate in the region, revealing that it was much warmer at that time and the ice had disappeared earlier than thought.

Previously, pine trees in North America were thought to be the oldest, at around 5,000 years old.

But Swedish scientists report that in the mountains, from Lapland in the north to Dalarna in central Sweden, there are much more ancient spruce trees (Picea abies).

The oldest tree, in Fulu Mountain, Dalarna (“the dales”), was dated by carbon dating at a laboratory in Miami, Florida to 9,550 years old and underneath the crown in the soil there were another three generations of wood from the same clone, dating 375, 5,660 and 9,000 years old that have the same genetic makeup.



http://www.telegraph.co.uk/earth/main.jhtml?view=DETAILS&grid=A1YourView&xml=/earth/2008/04/17/eatree117.xml”

“I beg your pardon!”

“Yet he doesn't look a day older than 9,000.”

“I beg your pardon!”
Treebeard
8:53:55 AM

;)...i just figured it'd be a little more cleaver than putting "wold's oldest tree found"”

“Just remember global warming is a modern thing cause by human technology causing green house gas emissions. It is absolutely impossible for that tree to be there since this is the warmest the world has ever been.[/sarcasm]”

“easy now...this is a non-fuego thread”

“mea culpa... I had hoped the [/sarcasm] would tip people off that I was trying to be funny.”

“Mea Maxima Culpa, Revvie!!

Tree.........you've got some hard bark on ya, mister.”