Borneo of Kutai

Oldest trees

The oldest trees are determined by growth rings, which can be seen if the tree is cut down or in cores taken from the edge to the center of the tree. Accurate determination is only possible for trees which produce growth rings, generally those which occur in seasonal climates; trees in uniform non-seasonal tropical climates grow continuously and do not have distinct growth rings. It is also only possible for trees which are solid to the center of the tree; many very old trees become hollow as the dead heartwood decays away. For some of these species, age estimates have been made on the basis of extrapolating current growth rates, but the results are usually little better than guesswork or wild speculation. White (1998)[27] proposes a method of estimating the age of large and veteran trees in the United Kingdom through the correlation between a tree's stem diameter, growth character and age.

The verified oldest measured ages are:

1. Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Methuselah) Pinus longaeva: 4,844 years[28]
2. Alerce Fitzroya cupressoides: 3,622 years[28]
3. Giant Sequoia Sequoiadendron giganteum: 3,266 years[28]
4. Sugi Cryptomeria japonica: 3,000 years[29]
5. Huon-pine Lagarostrobos franklinii: 2,500 years[28]

Other species suspected of reaching exceptional age include European Yew Taxus baccata (probably over 2,000 years[30][31]) and Western Redcedar Thuja plicata.

The oldest reported age for an angiosperm tree is 2293 years for the Sri Maha Bodhi Sacred Fig (Ficus religiosa) planted in 288 BC at Anuradhapura, Sri Lanka; this is also the oldest human-planted tree with a known planting date.