Oldest tree

Somehow I missed this story back in April, but ran across it in one of my daughter's science magazines' recap of 2008 discoveries:

The world's oldest known living tree, a conifer that first took root at the end of the last Ice Age, has been discovered in Sweden, researchers say.

The visible portion of the 13-foot-tall (4-meter-tall) "Christmas tree" isn't ancient, but its root system has been growing for 9,550 years. . .

So the bristlecone pines are still the planet's oldest standing trees. But when it comes to oldest living plants, the Swedish spruce may eventually be dethroned:

Research suggests that stands of Huon pines on the Australian island of Tasmania possibly date back more than 10,000 years.

Posted by David on January 11, 2009 9:14 PM