The most ancient plants on earth, surviving to this day

Almost any person of the event centuries ago sees as an exciting fairy tale, not believing in the reality of what happened thousands of years ago. To judge the existence of the ancient world can be found on the basis of evidence in various parts of the world. One of them is the most ancient plants on Earth, some of which have survived successfully to this day, witnessing the birth and extinction of civilizations, having survived more than one historical epoch.

Contemporary Representatives of Ancient Times

The most ancient plants on Earth are the algae discovered during excavations in China. Approximate age, according to scientists, is between 580 and 635 million years. Determine his great minds were able to depth the layers of the rock with the found remains of brown color, reminiscent of branches and plates.

Almost every continent has preserved the most ancient plants on Earth - silent witnesses of past eras. This Antarctic moss, which is 5 500 years old, the plant Lomatia tasmanica, having an estimated age of 43,600 years, the Mediterranean herb of Posidonia is oceanic, numbering 100,000 years. By the way, it was still in those days when the ancestors from Africa began to develop other lands.

The most ancient plants of the planet are a colony of poplars in the USA, Utah. 50 thousand genetically similar trees with a common root system constitute a holistic organism that is constantly reproduced and thus provides its own immortality. The approximate age of this society is over 800,000 years.

Cryptomeria - the oldest cedar of the planet

On the highest mountain of the Japanese island of Yakushima grows a huge cedar - the Cryptomeria, whose height reaches 25 meters, and the size of the girth is 16 meters. This ancient giant is 7000 years old. Some scientists argue that the age of the green handsome is 2.5 times smaller. Tourists rarely visit so remote and deaf places, allowing the coniferous old-timer to humbly observe the passage of time.

And yet: which plant is the oldest in our land? Not so long ago a group of specialists discovered a Canadian spruce growing on the territory of Sweden .
A slender and young looking tree turned out to be a new escape of the ancient progenitor, who grew up in the same place and numbered about 9550 years. Today it is the oldest spruce on the planet. Nearby are other clones of trees, whose roots range from 5000 to 9000 years.

Famous old pine trees

The fate of a pine named Prometheus - an old-timer from unkempt trees - that was cut down in the 60s of the last century with the light hand of an American student was dramatically cut short. After the death, the age of the tree was accurately established, amounting to 5000 years. Pine was a historical attraction of the National Park of Nevada.

Another coniferous old tree was discovered in the State of California in the Inyo National Forest. In a study conducted in 1957, it was established that pine appeared on the earth in 2832 BC, that is, at that time the age of the tree was 4789 years. It was named Methuselah - in honor of one of the biblical characters who lived 969 years. To date, after the death of Prometheus, this pine is the oldest plant on Earth. Its location is reliably hidden among the remaining trees, whose age also counts about 2000 years. The tree is carefully guarded to avoid attempts at vandalism.

The oldest plant on Earth (after the long-liver of Methuselah) is fizroyya cypress. Her age was determined in 1993 by counting annual rings and amounted to 3,622 years. It grows in a coastal reserve in the south of Chile. In the Atacama Desert of the same country for more than 2000 years, a bush of a yaret grows - a relative of modern parsley.

Historical pride of Great Britain

In the courtyard of the parish church of the village of Llangernew in Wales, you can admire a huge yew, numbering 4,000 years. Such a long life he was able to live through new shoots, growing even at the time of the death of the main trunk. In June 2002, during the celebration of the "golden jubilee" of Queen Elizabeth II, this historical monument was recognized as the national heritage of Great Britain.

Baobab - a bright representative of ancient plants

The most ancient plants on earth are baobabs. A vivid representative of this type of tree is the giant tree growing in Africa , the trunk of which consists of two parts with large cavities inside each. The diameter of the baobab is 10.6 meters with a barrel circumference of 47 meters and a height of 22 meters. The age of the tree, revealed by radiocarbon analysis, is 6,000 years; That is, a tree older than the Egyptian pyramids. The giant hollow, discovered inside of it, successfully survived by many generations. There have often been fires. Able to accommodate 20-30 people, at different times it was used by people as a temple, bus stop, prison, water storage and public toilet. Its modern purpose is a cozy bar-pub. Being such a favorite and sought-after tree, the baobab continues to grow actively; In its crown lives a huge number of different birds.

The negligence of man in relation to nature

The relationship "man - nature" is far from ideal, and the initiator of negativity in the majority is the first side, irresponsible and conniving attitude condemning the most ancient plants of the Earth to extinction. So, for the purpose of building roads and organizing fields, it was cold-bloodedly treated with chemicals. The Underground Forest, located in South Africa. Represents a massive root system, scooping deeply under the ground nutrients and water, it was a guaranteed protection against possible forest fires.

In Florida, with a light human hand burned a unique cypress, whose age reached 3500 years. One of the oldest trees in the world, it bore the name Senator in honor of Moses Overtrich - Senator of the Legislative Assembly of Florida, gave the district Seminole land with cypress to create a natural park. Initially, the Senator's height was 50 meters; In 1925, in connection with the hurricane, the tree lost its top and decreased to 38 meters.