oldest trees

Top 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World

No other living things on Earth grow as old as trees. Tree colonies can live up to around astounding 80,000 years. While individual trees don’t live that long, they, too, can survive astonishing thousands of years. Even in our day and age, where human involvement makes survival significant harder for trees, there are still some ancient old trees that have survived several millennia and more.

The following shows the 10 oldest living trees in the world. The ranking only acknowledges non-clonal trees that are still alive and which ages have been officially and scientifically confirmed.

The 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World


1. Old Hara

Oldest tree in the world

5,069 years old

Location: White Mountains, California, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine

The oldest confirmed and living tree in the world can be found in the White Mountains of California, USA. The bristlecone pine, named Old Hara, was discovered only in 2013 and found out to be the first ever studied individual and non-clonal living tree to be more than 5,000 years old.


2. Methuselah Tree

oldest trees

4,851 years old

Location: White Mountains, California, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine

Before the discovery of the Old Hara, the Methuselah tree was officially known as the oldest living tree on planet Earth. It is also located in the White Mountains of California, not far away from Old Hara. It, too, is a bristlecone pine. The tree was named after Methuselah, the biblical figure who supposedly was the grandfather of Noah and who, according to the Bible, lived 969 years. That is still almost 4,000 years shorter than the tree version.


3. Gran Abuelo

oldest tree outside north america

3,648 years old

Location: Cordillera Pelada, Los Rios, Chile
Species: Fitzroya Cypress

Living and growing for over 3,600 years, the Gran Abuelo (“Great Grandfather”) is the oldest known tree outside the United States. It is located in the Cordillera Pelada mountain range of the Los Rios region of Chile. The tree is a Fitzroya cypress and therefore also the oldest living non-pine tree of the world.


4. BLK227

oldest trees

2,625 years old

Location: Black River, North Carolina, USA
Species: Bald Cypress

The fourth oldest known tree in the world has only been discovered in 2019 in the Black River region of North Carolina, USA. The ancient tree is a Bald Cypress and over 2,600 years old. For now, the tree has not been properly names and is therefore still known under its scientific name BLK227.


5. CB-90-11

2,462 years old

Location: Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
Species: Bristlecone Pine

The fifth oldest known and living non-clonal tree is yet again another bristlecone pine. However, the CB-90-11 is not growing in the White Mountains of California, but in the Rocky Mountains of Colorado, USA. The pine tree is over 2,400 years old and with that impressive age closes the Top 5 of the oldest living trees known on our planet.



6. Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi

2,305 years old

Location: Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka
Species: Sacred Fig


7. Benett Juniper

2,201 years old

Location: Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Species: Western Juniper


8. SHP 7

2,111 years old

Location: Sierra Nevada, California, USA
Species: Foxtail Pine


9. BLK232

2,089 years old

Location: Black River, North Carolina, USA
Species: Bald Cypress


10. Unnamed Tree

1,945 years old

Location: Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada
Species: Subalpine Larch



The 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World
(at a glance)

(as of October 2009)

Top 10 Oldest Living Trees in the World:
1. OLD HARA
White Mountains, California, USA
5,069 years old
2. METHUSELAH TREE
White Mountains, California, USA
4,851 years old
3. GRAN ABUELO
Cordillera Pelada, Los Rios, Chile
3,648 years old
4. BLK227
Black River, North Carolina, USA
2,625 years old
5. CB-90-11
Rocky Mountains, Colorado, USA
2,462 years old
6. JAYA SRI MAHA BODHI
Anuradhapura, North Central Province, Sri Lanka
2,305 years old
7. BENETT JUNIPER
Sierra Nevada, California, USA
2,201 years old
8. SHP 7
Sierra Nevada, California, USA
2,111 years old
9. BLK232
Black River, North Carolina, USA
2,089 years old
10. Unnamed Tree
Kananaskis Country, Alberta, Canada
1,945 years old

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