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7 of the Oldest Living Plants on Earth

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26 Jan, 2024

This post was originally published on Eco Watch

While standing in the midst of a grove of aspens in Utah, you’re actually in the presence of a single organism that’s 14,000 years old. Travel west to Oregon and hike on top of a 2,400-year-old fungus growing beneath the ground. Cross the Atlantic, and meet a rose bush that’s been blooming for over 1,000 years in Germany. These are the world’s presumed oldest plants and what we know about them. 

Pando in Sevier, Utah (9,000 to 14,000 years)

The Pando clone spreads over 106 acres, consisting of over 40,000 individual trees. USDA / Forest Service

In Fishlake National Forest stands a grove of quaking aspens — trees known for their small leaves that shimmer and quake in the wind. This particular aspen grove, however, is actually one single organism. Its 47,000 individual trees — some of which are over 130 years old themselves — all grow from a single root system, meaning all of the trees in the grove are genetically identical. It’s technically the world’s largest tree, as determined by the U.S. Forest Service through genetic testing in the early 2000s. Named Pando — which is latin for “I spread” — the tree spans over 106 acres and is the densest organism ever found, weighing nearly 13 million pounds. While its specific age is debated, Pando is somewhere between 9,000 and 14,000 years old, initially sprouting some time after the last ice age. Sadly, according to scientists, Pando is showing signs of decline due to insects, disease and lack of regeneration from the overgrazing of deer and other animals. 

King Clone in Lucerne Valley, California (11,700 years)

King Clone, the 11,700-year-old creosote bush ring in the Mojave Desert. Klokeid / public domain

Like the quaking aspens — and as the name suggests — King Clone is a clonal colony of genetically identical creosote bushes growing from one original plant. This ancient Larrea tridentata is located in the Mojave Desert, and radiocarbon dating puts it at 11,700 years old. The bushes grow and multiply in a slow, unique process. The oldest branches die over time, and their central stem crown (the top part of the plant) begins to split into different segments. The original stem and branches decompose, and those other stems that formed thus become independent, genetically identical plants. This process continues, often in a circular shape that creates the characteristic rings associated with creosote bush colonies. They also produce small, beautiful yellow flowers. The ring that’s known as King Clone has an average diameter of 45 feet, and continues to (slowly) grow. 

Honey Mushroom in Grant, Oregon (2,400 years) 

Honey mushrooms at the base of an infected grand fir in the Malheur National Forest, Oregon. Craig L. Schmitt and Michael L. Tatum / USDA Forest Service

Or, as locals call it, the “Humongous Fungus.” This Armillaria ostoyae may not be the oldest organism on Earth, but is the largest, stretching 2,200 acres in Oregon’s Malheur National Forest and weighing 35,000 tons. It’s not a massive, capped mushroom growing aboveground, but rather a huge network of hyphae underground, almost entirely hidden from sight — except during rainy periods in the autumn, when small honey mushrooms do sprout from the soil. Armillaria ostoyae is a parasitic fungus that consumes the roots of conifer trees. In the case of the Humongous Fungus, its size has been determined by the dead trees that grow above it. The mushroom was actually found because stands of trees were dying off — a Forest Service scientist suspected the fungus, and DNA tests proved that many trees in the area shared DNA, confirming his hypothesis. It grows and consumes roots slowly, expanding about 1-3 feet every year. 

Thousand-Year Rose in Hildesheim, Germany (1,200 years)

The thousand-year rose bush near the apse of the cathedral in bloom in Hildesheim, Germany on May 29, 2017. Holger Hollemann / picture alliance via Getty Images

Also called the Rose of Hildesheim, this 30-foot plant is believed to be the world’s oldest-living rose. The Rosa canina was probably planted in the early 800s when the church it grows on — Hildesheim Cathedral — was built, possibly by King Louis the Pious. The bush is extremely resilient, and was almost entirely destroyed when the church was bombed during World War II. The roots survived, however, and new branches grew from the ground that still sprout pink flowers every year in May. 

Methuselah in Big Pine, California (4,800 years)

The Methuselah tree in Big Pine, California on June 29, 2013. Yen Chao / Flickr

Although the title of “oldest trees in the world” is hotly contested, the Methuselah tree is a top contender. This ancient bristlecone pine — or Pinus longaeva — is set apart from the aspens and other ancient trees given that it’s not a clonal organism. Methuselah is named after the biblical figure from the Old Testament who lived 969 years, but this tree is even older. It’s estimated that Methuselah the tree was germinated in 2832 BCE, meaning it is older than the Egyptian pyramids. It grows in the White Mountains of eastern California — specifically in the Methuselah Grove within Inyo National Forest — as a part of the Forest of Ancients within the National Forest, home to many ancient trees. At 135 feet tall, its massive size is even more impressive given its elevation. Its wood is resistant to rot and drought, and its beautifully twisted branches — which are shaped by the fast winds of the mountains — help the tree remain standing and resist breakages during storms. Don’t expect to easily find it, however, as Methuselah’s exact location is kept secret to protect it from damage by visitors. 

Old Tjikko in Älvdalen S, Sweden (9,550 years)

Old Tjikko in Sweden’s Fulufjället National Park. TT / iStock / Getty Images Plus

This Norway spruce doesn’t look particularly impressive — in fact, it looks like any other old tree, growing on top of Fulufjället Mountain in Sweden’s Fulufjället National Park. However, it’s the oldest known individual clonal tree in the world, meaning the tree itself has regenerated from its roots many times. This specific trunk itself is several centuries old. This type of spruce can regenerate from its own branches that are pushed to the ground during snowstorms, which then take root themselves through a process called “layering.” Coast redwoods and western red cedars also reproduce this way. Old Tjikko’s old age indicates that it started growing soon after the retreat of the glaciers from the region during the last ice age.

Olive Tree of Vouves in Vouves, Greece (2,000 to 3,000 years)

The oldest known olive tree at Kavusi, Crete, Greece. Gatsi / iStock / Getty Images Plus

On the Island of Crete stands the oldest olive tree in Greece. No one is sure whether it was planted by humans or by natural forces, but either way, it began growing before the rise of classical Greece. Miraculously, it still grows olives, and has for 2,000 years. The famous olive tree is at least that old, but scientists have been unable to determine its exact age while the tree is still standing, as its heartwood has decayed. A museum was built next to the 15-foot-wide, 27-foot-high tree to honor the olive harvesting techniques in Crete and the olives of the Mediterranean. Even if you haven’t visited the tree itself, you might have seen its boughs, which were placed on the heads of the winners of the 2004 Olympics in Athens.

The post 7 of the Oldest Living Plants on Earth appeared first on EcoWatch.

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ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB receives EPD status for gearless mill drive ring motor

ABB has gained Environmental Product Declaration (EPD) status for its Gearless Mill Drive (GMD) ring motor — technology used to drive large grinding mills in the mining industry.

An EPD is a standardised document that provides detailed information about the environmental impact of a product throughout its life cycle. Based on a comprehensive Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) study, the EPD highlights ABB’s commitment to transparency, environmental responsibility and supporting customers in making informed decisions on sustainability in their supply chains.

ABB analysed the environmental impact of a ring motor across its entire life cycle from supply chain and production to usage and end-of-life disposal. The study was conducted for a ring motor of a semi-autogenous grinding (SAG) mill with an installed power of 24 MW and was based on a reference service life of 25 years.

“Sustainability is at the core of our purpose at ABB, influencing how we operate and innovate for customers,” said Andrea Quinta, Sustainability Specialist at ABB. “By earning the Environmental Product Declaration for our ring motor, we emphasise our environmental stewardship and industry leadership for this technology. We adhered to the highest standards throughout this process, as we do in the ABB Ring Motor factory every day. This recognition highlights to the mining industry what they are bringing into their own operations when they work with ABB.”

The comprehensive LCA was conducted at ABB’s factory in Bilbao, Spain, and was externally verified and published in accordance with international standards ISO 14025 and ISO 14040/14044. It will remain valid for five years.

The ring motor, a key component of the GMD, is a drive system without any gears where the transmission of the torque between the motor and the mill is done through the magnetic field in the air gap between the motor stator and the motor rotor. It optimises grinding applications in the minerals and mining industries by enabling variable-speed operation, leading to energy and cost savings.

The full EPD for the ABB GMD Ring Motor can be viewed on EPD International.

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