National Geographic News, Reporting Your World Daily

Sunday, November 22, 2009

Photo: Oldest Living Tree Found in Sweden


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The trunk of the above tree is less than 600 years old—but its roots date back to 9,550 years ago, making it the world's oldest known living tree, scientists say.

The Norway spruce, of a species commonly used as Christmas trees in Europe, was found in 2004 on a Swedish mountaintop.

Photograph courtesy of Leif Kullman at Umeå University's Department of Ecology and Environmental Science