The 15 oldest trees in the world

You think you're old? Just stand next to one of these ancient beings, some of the longest-living organisms on planet Earth. As a note, clonal trees, which can live for even longer through self-replicating groves, have been excluded from this list to spotlight trees that have stood as unique entities for millennia. As dating is not an easy task, most ages are approximate.

This bristlecone pine called Prometheus was at least 4,862 years old… making it the oldest known tree in the world! However, in 1964, a graduate student studying the climate dynamics of the Little Ice Age cut down the tree to study its rings. WHOOPS! At least sections of the tree have been saved and are on display across the US.

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Located in the White Mountains of eastern California is another bristlecone pine… that would have taken root just a few years after Prometheus but thousands of years before the earliest human “civilizations” flourished in the Middle East.

Non-confirmed estimates say this is the oldest living tree, but even if not THE oldest, it’s certainly old! It’s not always possible to measure dates exactly because tree-ring dating can damage these important trees and scientists could not bore all the way to the center. This special tree is located in Chile’s Alerce Costero National Park.

This Persian Cyprus is estimated to have been standing for at least 4,000 years… maybe 5,000. There is a legend about the tree, which says the tree was first planted by Zoroaster, the spiritual founder of Zoroastrianism. Zoroastrianism is one of the world’s oldest organized faiths. That religion puts emphasis on spreading happiness, mostly through charity and respecting the spiritual equality and duty of both men and women.

This huge (poisonous!) yew tree was planted some time around the prehistoric Bronze Age and is still growing. It's located in what's now a cemetery in North Wales and is connected to Welsh mythology. According to legend, it is inhabited by an ancient spirit known as Angelystor.

Image: Emgaol / Wikimedia

This bald cypress was one of the world's oldest and tallest trees, standing 125 feet (38 meters) tall. That's until Jan. 2012, when a woman who enjoyed sitting in the hollow of the tree smoked meth with her friend there. Then, the breeze picked up and a fire caused the tree to ignite... and with that one of the world's oldest trees burned down. The woman got two years in prison.

Image: The Senator in 2011, the year before it burned down (Anthony Scotti, Wikimedia) and Mugshot of the woman found guilty of burning it down (Seminole County Sheriff)

This is the largest and oldest known juniper tree in the United States. It is located in California's Stanislaus National Forest. The tree was named after naturalist Clarence K. Bennett, who championed getting the tree studied and protected. In 2018, it was threatened by the Donnell Fire… but was luckily saved from the flames.

Image: Dave Bunnell / Wikimedia

Located on the island of Crete, this ancient olive tree is still producing olives today. It's one of the oldest olive trees in the world and has become a symbol of the deep roots of the Mediterranean civilization with olive cultivation.

This is the largest, and of course, the oldest cryptomeria tree on the Japanese island of Yakushima. It is named after a period of Japanese prehistory and is located on the highest peak on the island. Arborist Thomas Pakenham describes Jōmon Sugi as "a grim titan of a tree, rising from the spongy ground more like rock than timber, his vast muscular arms extended above the tangle of young cedars and camphor trees"

Located on the eastern slope of Mount Etna is the world’s largest and oldest known chestnut tree. Guinness World Records has listed it for its 'Greatest Tree Girth Ever', noting that it had a circumference of 57.9 m (190 ft) when it was measured in 1780. It got its name from a legend in which a queen and 100 knights were all able to take shelter under the tree.

Image: Wood engraving after an old drawing, published in 1894.

This giant sequoia located in the Sequoia National Park isn't just known for its age but also for being the largest known living single-stem tree on Earth by volume. It can be found in Sequoia National Park in California, where five of the 10 largest trees in the world stand today.

This sacred fig tree in Anuradhapura is believed to be the oldest human-planted tree with a known planting date and written history. According to Buddhist scriptures, it was grown from a cutting of the very tree under which Buddha attained enlightenment.

This type of jequitibá tree is only known to be found in one place - the Atlantic forest of south-eastern Brazil, an area threatened by habitat loss. Locals say the tree is sacred.

Image: Mauro Halpern / Wikimedia

This enormous baobab tree had a cavernous hollow so large that a pub had been set up inside, making it a unique attraction for tourists. Unfortunately, most of the tree died in 2016 and 2017. According to a 2018 study, it's not just this specimen, but "the majority of the oldest and largest African baobabs [have died] over the past 12 years"

Image: South African Tourism / Wikimedia

This giant kauri tree in the Waipoua Forest is believed to be the oldest of its kind to stand today. It is also New Zealand’s most famous, and during the 2013 drought, 1,000 liters of water were diverted from a nearby stream to give it water. In 2018, it was also threatened by a fungal disease that authorities protected it from. In 2012, Lady Davina Lewis named her son after the tree. The tree, in turn, was named after Tāne, the Māori god of forests and of birds.

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