Bristlecone Pine

Nevada’s other state tree is the oldest of all living state symbols. It is the bristlecone pine (Pinus aristata), adopted in 1987. The oldest bristlecones are more than 4,000 years old. Egypt’s pyramids were under construction when these trees were seedlings!

The bristlecone pine was reportedly promoted by students from Ely, Nevada.

Two species of bristlecones (Pinus longaeva & Pinus aristata) grow atop the arid mountains of the Great Basin, from Colorado to California. Pinus longaeva is the species that lives in Nevada, Utah, and California, even though legislation lists Pinus aristata as the state tree. (Until 1970, only the single species Pinus aristata was recognized.)

Aging Secrets

Only hardy hikers were familiar with bristlecones’ gnarled beauty, and their great age wasn’t known until 1953. Early researchers were puzzled. How could organisms survive so long in such harsh environments, with ferocious, dessicating (drying through evaporation) winds, little rainfall, and very alkaline, sandy soil?

It turns out that those dessicating winds are also an ally, as they discourage insects, fungus, and rot. Bristlecones are further protected from pests, disease, and dry winds alike by their dense, highly resinous wood.

Another bristlecone secret for longevity (living a long life) is to put more energy into surviving, rather than growing bigger. A bristlecone trunk may grow less than 1/100th of an inch yearly, and trees reach a maximum height of about sixty feet. Older bristlecones may consist mostly of dead wood, with only strips of living bark. Bristlecones can remain standing for centuries even after death, finally falling when their supporting roots finally decay or are undermined by erosion.

Bristlecones benefit further from their solitary nature. Few competitive species can survive in their harsh habitats. Forest fires are rare in bristlecone county, as bristlecones grow fairly far apart, and there’s little ground cover to spread flames. The oldest bristlecones are generally found at elevations of 10,000 to 11,000 feet, typically in the harshest habitats (which is beginning to sound like paradise to me!).

Record Bristlecones

The oldest living bristlecones are found in the White Mountains of California. The oldest known living tree, discovered in 1957, is a 4,723-year-old patriarch named Methuselah.

One even older was lost not long after it was discovered. In 1964, a researcher who was searching for evidence of Ice Age glaciers in the Southwest was taking core samples from some bristlecones on Mt. Wheeler, Nevada. His excitement at finding a tree over 4,000 years old turned to dismay when his coring tool broke. Incredibly, the U.S. Forest Service gave them permission to cut the tree down!

Named Prometheus, the tree turned out to 4,950 years old, the oldest known living thing on the planet. Prometheus was likely the oldest tree in the world even when the United States won its independence.

Are bristlecones really the oldest living organisms? A plant that may be even older is being studied by scientists. It also grows in a harsh habitat. One can get there by setting out from Nevada and circling the globe—all the way to the Mojave Desert in neighboring California. It is thought that some creosote bushes may be as old as 7,000 years!

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