Definitions of longevity vary between clonal trees, ones where parts of the tree continue to live after the death of the first trunk or trunks, and non-clonal trees. Tree ages are derived from a variety of sources, including documented "tree-ring" (dendrochronological) count core samples, radiocarbon dating, girth-to-age formulas, and estimates from growth rates. For these reasons, there are three lists of "oldest trees" here, using different criteria.
The three tables of trees are listed by age and species. The first table describes trees for which a minimum age has been directly determined, either through counting or cross-referencing tree rings or through radiocarbon dating. Many of these trees may be even older than their listed ages, but the oldest wood in the tree has rotted away. For some old trees, so much of the center is missing that their age cannot be directly determined. Instead, estimates are made based on the tree's size and presumed growth rate. The second table includes trees with these estimated ages. The last table lists clonal colonies in which no individual tree trunks may be remarkably old but in which the organism as a whole is thought to be very old.
The record-holders for individual, non-clonal trees are the Great Basin bristlecone pine trees from California and Nevada, in the United States. Through tree-ring cross-referencing, they have been shown to be almost five thousand years old.
A clonal colony can survive for much longer than an individual tree. A colony of 48,000 quaking aspen trees (nicknamed Pando), covering in the Fishlake National Forest of Utah, is considered one of the oldest and largest organisms in the world. Recent estimates set the colony's age at about 16,000 to 37,000 years, although tree ring samples date individual stems at rarely more than 130 years. A colony of Huon pine trees covering on Mount Read (Tasmania) is estimated to be around 10,000 years old, as determined by DNA samples taken from pollen collected from the sediment of a nearby lake. Individual trees in this group date to no more than 4,000 years old, as determined by tree ring samples.
Non-clonal trees with ages from cross-dating Cross-dating via dendrochronology is the most exact method for dating a wood sample. Cross-dating is the method of finding the age of a tree ring by matching growth patterns across multiple trees from the same location. Cross-dating can date a wood sample to a precision of one year.
This list contains tree ages determined from dendrochronological cross-dating. It has all trees with ages more than 2000 years, and a sample of notable trees (one per species) younger than that. If cross-dating has not been reproducible (e.g., because a tree core has become missing), the unreproduced age is listed in the section below. If there are multiple ages (e.g., due to inconsistency in tree cores or lack of reproducibility), the lowest verified age is shown here, and the highest is shown in the estimated table, below. Name Age(years) Year Germinated Species Location Country Notes Prometheus(WPN-114) Great Basin bristlecone pinePinus longaeva Wheeler Peak, Nevada United States Cut down by Donald Rusk Currey in 1964. Methuselah Great Basin bristlecone pinePinus longaeva White Mountains (California) United States It is the oldest known living (non-clonal) tree in the world. Alerce Milenario or Gran Abuelo Patagonian cypressFitzroya cupressoides Cordillera Pelada, Los Ríos Chile Alive. New unconfirmed estimation of 3463 BC (5,484 years in 2022) would make it the oldest (non-clonal) tree in the world. Located within Alerce Costero National Park. CBR26 Giant sequoiaSequoiadendron giganteum Sierra Nevada, California United States Dead. D-21 Giant sequoiaSequoiadendron giganteum Sierra Nevada, California United States Dead. D-23 Giant sequoiaSequoiadendron giganteum Sierra Nevada, California United States Dead. CMC 3 Giant sequoiaSequoiadendron giganteum Sierra Nevada, California United States Dead. Scofield Juniper Sierra juniperJuniperus grandis Sierra Nevada, California United States Dead. BLK227 Bald cypressTaxodium distichum Three Sisters Cove, Black River (North Carolina) United States CB-90-11 Rocky Mountain bristlecone pinePinus aristata Central Colorado United States ? Qilian juniperJuniperus przewalskii Delingha, Qinghai Province China Bennett Juniper Sierra juniperJuniperus grandis Sierra Nevada, California United States SHP 7 Foxtail pinePinus balfouriana Sierra Nevada California United States BLK232 Bald cypressTaxodium distichum Three Sisters Cove, Black River (North Carolina) United States CRE 175 Rocky Mountain juniperJuniperus scopulorum Northern New Mexico United States Miles Juniper Sierra juniperJuniperus grandis Sierra Nevada, California United States KET 3996 Limber pinePinus flexilis Ketchum, Idaho United States FL117 Northern whitecedarThuja occidentalis Ontario Canada BCK 69 Bald cypressTaxodium distichum Bladen County, North Carolina United States ? Nootka cypressCallitropsis nootkatensis Vancouver Island Canada FL101 Northern whitecedarThuja occidentalis Ontario Canada Cliff Cedar Northern White CedarThuja occidentalis Fayette Historic State Park, Michigan United States Cliff trees, believed initially to be bushes and then to be young based on their size, discovered by Douglas Larson. Italus Heldreich's pinePinus heldreichii Pollino National Park Italy Alive. Oldest tree in Europe with verified age (radiocarbon calibrated tree-ring procedure).
Non-clonal trees with estimated ages Note: The ages of the trees in this list are estimated via methods that are less accurate than cross-dating. Some of the ages are based on tree size, which is known to have 20% error. Ages in this table should be treated as speculative. Name Age(years) Species Location Country Notes Alerce Milenario or Gran Abuelo 5,484 Patagonian cypressFitzroya cupressoides } Cordillera Pelada, Los Ríos Chile A new 2022 estimation of 5,484 years expands on a previous minimum age based on incomplete tree rings of . ? Great Basin bristlecone pinePinus longaeva White Mountains (California) United States Tree cored by Edmund Schulman, age determined by Tom Harlan. However, core is missing and date is unconfirmed. Methuselah Great Basin bristlecone pinePinus longaeva White Mountains (California) United States Llangernyw Yew 4,000–5,000 Common yewTaxus baccata Llangernyw, Conwy United Kingdom Girth of 10.75 m. Situated in the churchyard of St Dygain's Church in the village of Llangernyw, Wales. One of the 50 Great British Trees. Sarv-e Abarkuh 4,500 Mediterranean cypressCupressus sempervirens Abarkuh, Yazd Iran Also called "Zoroastrian Sarv". Gümeli Porsuğu 4,115 YewTaxus baccata Zonguldak Turkey Alive, found in 2016.The Ancient Yew 4,000 YewTaxus baccata Tisbury, Wiltshire United Kingdom 37 feet in circumference. Situated in the churchyard of St John's, Tisbury. Carbon dated by David Bellamy. The Senator 3,500 Pond cypressTaxodium ascendens Longwood, Florida United States Died in January 2012 from human-caused fire.Oliveira do Mouchão (KNJ1/601)3,350European olive tree Olea europea L. var. europaeaMouriscas, AbrantesPortugalAlive. In 2016, José Luís Lousada, a researcher at the University of Trás-os-Montes and Alto Douro, estimated the tree's age at approximately 3350 years using dendrometry. According to this assessment with an estimate age precision of 2%, it is considered the oldest tree in Portugal. S'Ozzastru 3,000–4,000 OliveOlea europaea Luras, Sardinia Italy The President Giant sequoiaSequoiadendron giganteum Sierra Nevada, California United States Alive. Fortingall Yew 3,000 Common yewTaxus baccata Fortingall, Perthshire United Kingdom Alive. Possibly the oldest tree in Britain. Alishan Sacred Tree 3,000 Formosan cypressChamaecyparis formosensis Alishan National Scenic Area, Chiayi Taiwan Collapsed on 1 July 1997, following heavy rainstorms. 3,020 Jequitibá-rosa