Image – Flickr/Jim Morefield
Plants are one of the few living things capable of living for thousands of years. even within this large kingdom, there are only a few species that make it up. One of them is the Pinus longaevawhich is the one to which the named tree Methuselah.
These conifers live in high altitude areas, where the winters are very cold and long, and the summer lasts no more than a few weeks.. But it is precisely these harsh conditions that force them to grow at an extremely slow pace, thus managing to exceed 4,000 years.
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What are the characteristics of the Methuselah tree?
Image – flickr/brewbooks
The Methuselah tree is a highly protected plant, so much so that we can’t show you a picture of it because we just couldn’t find it. But we can tell you that It is located in California (USA), specifically in the Inyo National Forest.
It is a conifer that He is approximately 4847 years old., discovered in 1930 by paleontologist Edmund Schulman. This man was a scientist who was dedicated to studying tree rings to find out when the different drought periods occurred to date.
But how is our protagonist? Well, looking at images of specimens of Pinus longaeva who are already old, we can assume that it has the trunk twisted on itself. A wide trunk, perhaps 2 meters in diameter, but low in height, as strong winds do not allow it to grow much larger.
In this sense, it is very rare for perennial pines to exceed 5 meters in height; only those who are somewhat protected can reach 15 meters.
Moreover, the Methuselah tree is almost at the end of its life. There are those who consider that “he is more dead than alive”, so it probably only has a few branches with green leaves.
Sure, this is all just guesses as i say based on what can be seen in the pictures of Pinus longaeva who are very oldand taking into account the conditions in which these trees live.
The United States Forest Service refuses to reveal the exact location to prevent vandalismsomething that unfortunately already happened in 1964, when a university student ordered (or cut, it is not clear) the root of a giant: Prometheus, who was also of the same species as Methuselah, but was older: he was about 4900 years old.
To this day Prometheus’s remains are well preserved at the University of Arizona.
And of course, no one wants Methuselah to suffer the same fate, or be harmed by people who want to see him.
Is the Methuselah tree the oldest in the world?
Searching the internet for information about this specimen, virtually every site tells you yes, it is the oldest. and yes it is. Furthermore, it is estimated that the Pinus longaeva It can live up to 5,200 years.
But there is a living organism that is much, much older. I’m talking about the pando tree, a trembling aspen whose roots are about 80,000 years old. It grows in North America, more precisely on the plateau of Fish Lake in Colorado (Utah).
How do you take care of Pinus longaeva?
Image – Wikimedia/Jim Morefield
It is a conifer that does well only in places where the climate is similar to that of its place of origin. For this reason, It should not be planted in the tropics, in the Mediterranean region or in other hot regions.
It is a mountain tree, adapted to live in extreme conditions. Therefore, the heat that usually prevails in countries like Spain, for example, would not do you any good. But if you live in an area where the summers are cool, and if there is heavy snowfall during the winter, then it may be worth having one. Here are the general care you should give him:
- Location: put it outside from the first moment. If the climatic conditions are those just mentioned, you can place it in a sunny place; otherwise it is preferable that it be in the shade or partial shade.
- soil or substrate: it is very important that the soil is slightly acidic and with excellent drainage. If you are going to have it in a pot, it is advisable to put an acidic plant substrate, like this one.
- Irrigation: it must be watered every 3 or 4 days in summer. During the rest of the seasons, you will have to do it further apart, because the earth stays dry longer.
- Subscriber: You can fertilize it with an ecological fertilizer, such as earthworm humus or guano (available here). Take advantage of the warmer months to do so, following the instructions for use.
- hardiness: it is a tree that can withstand temperatures down to -34ºC; on the other hand, it does not like heat (20ºC or more).
As you can see, the Methuselah tree and the species it belongs to are very unique living beings.