9,500-Year-Old Tree Found In Sweden Is The World's Oldest Tree

The fir was discovered on a mountain in national park in central Sweden. Although the trunk is much younger, root system is at least 9,500 years. The tree took root at the end of the last ice age, but could be older. The tree sprung up in 7550 B.C., making it older than recorded history.

Old Tjikko's Staggeringly Long Life. According to carbon dating, Old Tjikko sprouted around 7550 BC, making it older than written history. It is the world's oldest known Norway Spruce, and spent the first few thousand years of its life as a shrub formation known as a krummholz. Kullman stated that "the fact that we can see this spruce as a tree today is a consequence of recent climate warming since about 1915." The area the tree first sprouted in almost 10,000 years ago was a harsh tundra region, but, as the climate began to warm, the tree was able to grow from a shrub to a normal tree formation. The discovery of a tree that old in the region also proved that the climate in Sweden had actually warmed much earlier than scientist had previously believed, allowing Old Tjikko and other ancient Norway Spruces to grow in the surrounding area.