5,400-Year-Old Tree "Great Grandfather" Is Discovered in Chile

Trees have existed on earth for 370 million years. It is estimated that there are approximately three trillion mature trees in the world. Scientists have discovered a Patagonia cypress tree in Chile known as “Great Grandfather” or Alerce Milenario is even older. Recent analysis of a segment of tree rings shows the giant is an estimated 5,484 years old—likely taking the award for oldest living tree.

The team counted 2,400 growth rings in the section of core. However, they were not even able to reach the center of the enormous tree. Therefore, they turned to a computer model to complete the ring count. By comparing to other alerce trees and taking into account what they know about variables affecting tree growth, they came to an 80% confidence estimate that Great Grandfather is over 5,000 years old. This makes him older than Methuselah, the former record holder. This discovery is exciting, as ancient trees contain a lot of "records" of climate change over he millennia within them.