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.

The tree has survived for so long due to vegetative cloning. The visible tree is relatively young, but it is part of an older root system which dates back thousands of years. The trunk of the tree may die and regrow multiple times, but the tree's root system remains intact and in turn sprouts another trunk. The trunk may only live for about 600 years, and when one trunk dies another eventually grows back in its place. Also, each winter, heavy snow may push the tree's low-lying branches to ground level, where they take root and survive to grow again the next year in a process known as layering. Layering occurs when a tree's branch comes in contact with the earth, and new roots sprout from the contact point. Other trees, such as coast redwoods and western red cedars are known to reproduce by layering. The tree's age was determined by carbon-14 dating of the root system, which found roots dating back to 375, 5,660, 9,000, and 9,550 years.