A tree grows in North Carolina, and it has been growing there for a long, looooooong time. According to a new study published today (May 9) in the journal Environmental Research Communications, scientists studying tree rings in North Carolina's Black River swampland have discovered a bald cypress tree (Taxodium distichum) that's at least 2,624 years old, making it one of the oldest non-clonal, sexually reproducing trees in the world. (Clonal trees, which are vast colonies of genetically identical plants that grow from a single ancestor, can live for tens of thousands of years.) How old is 2,624 years, really? To borrow an analogy from the Charlotte Observer, that age makes this tree older than Christianity, the Roman Empire and the English language. Researchers discovered the ancient cypress while studying tree rings in an effort to piece together the climate history of the eastern United States. (In addition to marking a tree's age, the width and color of tree rings indicate how wet or dry a given year was). Because of previous fieldwork, the team knew that a particular stand of bald cypress trees in the Black River's Three Sisters Swamp was one of the oldest tree clusters in the country. That earlier research identified several trees between 1,000 and 1,650 years old. [Bristlecone Pines: Photos Reveal Some of Earth's Oldest Organisms] The new study reveals that bald cypresses have even greater longevity than researchers previously thought. In addition to the 2,624-year-old individual reported above, the researchers found a 2,088-year-old cypress in the same swamp — and there are likely more where that came from. "Because we have cored and dated only 110 living bald cypress at this site, a small fraction of the tens of thousands of trees still present in these wetlands, there could be several additional individual bald cypress over 2,000-years old along the approximately 100 km (62 mile) reach of Black River," the researchers wrote in the study. According to the new study, bald cypress trees are now confirmed to be the oldest known wetland tree species on Earth. This discovery also makes the bald cypress the fifth-oldest species of non-clonal tree on Earth; only individual Sierra juniper (Juniperus occidentalis) trees, giant sequoias (Sequoiadendron giganteum), alerces (Fitzroya cupressoides) and Great Basin bristlecone pines (Pinus longaeva) have been found to be older. The world's oldest bristlecone pine, located in the White Mountains of California, is 5,066 years old — roughly twice the age of the newfound cypress. The oldest clonal tree is thought to stand in the grove of quaking aspen trees known as Pando, in Utah. Although the ancient trees described in this study live on protected land that is privately owned by The Nature Conservancy’s North Carolina chapter, their existence remains threatened by ongoing logging and biomass farming operations (e.g., chopping down trees for mulch) elsewhere on the river, as well as by industrial pollution and climate change.According to the study authors, the swamp is located at 6.5 feet (2 meters) above mean sea level, and is at risk of being flooded by rising sea levels caused by anthropogenic global warming. "The discovery of the oldest known living trees in eastern North America, which are in fact some of the oldest living trees on earth, provides powerful incentive for private, state, and federal conservation of this remarkable waterway," the authors concluded. Editor's Note: This story was updated at 1 p.m. E.D.T. on May 10 to note that sea level rise due to anthropogenic climate change could cause ancient bald cypress trees to be flooded. Originally published on Live Science.<doc-sep>Advertisement Scientist finds rare, ancient tree in North Carolina swamp Professor David Stahle says bald cypress at least 2,624 years old Share Shares Copy Link Copy A University of Arkansas professor/researcher has documented a group ancient trees that are among the oldest in the world -- and they are about an hour’s drive from Wilmington, North Carolina.David Stahle, distinguished professor of geoscience, has now identified the oldest known bald cypress in the world -- and the fifth-oldest type of tree overall. He says it is at least 2,624 years old. The bald cypress is on Black River property purchased by the Nature Conservancy.Stahle led a group of media members and other interested parties on a paddling trip to the ancient cypress stand Thursday morning.Stahle along with colleagues from the university's Ancient Bald Cypress Consortium and other conservation groups, first discovered the trees in 2017, Science Daily reported.Science Daily reported that the ancient trees are part of an intact ecosystem spanning most of the 65-mile length of the Black River. The trees are scientifically valuable for reconstructing ancient climate conditions. The oldest trees extend the climate record in the southeast United States by 900 years. They show evidence of droughts and flooding during colonial and precolonial times that exceed any measured in modern times, experts say.Less than 1% of original bald cypress forests survived the heavy logging of the past.The Black River bald cypress have been around since six centuries before the birth of Jesus. For the newest study, researchers used nondestructive core samples from 110 trees found in a section of the wetland forest they had not previously visited, Science Daily reported. "The area of old growth bald cypress was 10 times larger than I realized," Stahle said. "We think there are older trees out there still. "Stahle first visited the Black River area in the 1980′s with retired biologist Julie Moore, and both knew almost immediately they had found something special.“At the time, I figured there’s 1,000-year-old trees all around you here, which is extraordinarily rare anywhere but California, and Chile, too,” Stahle said. "It’s very rare worldwide to find trees that are over 1,000 years old.Before embarking on the trip downstream Thursday, Moore recalled her first time seeing the old cypress trees. A friend of hers who worked for the Forest Service drove Moore as close to the river as an old truck would take them. Even before getting out of the truck, Moore said she saw the ancient cypress.Once they were standing at the river's edge, Moore said they stood there silently and listened to wood ducks make their way to their nest in the hollowed-out trees.“For about 15 minutes, we just stood there,” Moore said. “I’m getting goosebumps right now thinking about it. It was one of those times that you know someone is sharing something with you that’s very important to them, and as it turns out, it’s a very important place.”Stahle said the area of bald cypress is 10 times larger than he originally thought. And he said there may be even older trees out there.<doc-sep>
The ancient trees are a piece of a flawless biological system that traverses the greater part of the 65-mile length of the Black River. In addition to their age, these trees are logically profitable methods for recreating ancient atmospheric conditions. The most established trees in the preserve expand the paleoclimate record in the southeast United States by 900 years and show proof of dry seasons and flooding during colonial and pre-pilgrim times that surpass any measured in modern times. Now, scientists have recently documented stand of bald cypress trees in North Carolina which are almost 2,624 years old. As scientists reported, they are the oldest known living trees in eastern North America and the oldest known wetland tree species in the world. In 2017, a David Stahle, Distinguished Professor of Geosciences, with his colleagues from the university’s Ancient Bald Cypress Consortium and other conservation groups, discovered that the trees from a forested wetland preserved along the Black River south of Raleigh, North Carolina. Stahle documented the age of the trees using dendrochronology, the study of tree rings, and radio carbon dating. Scientists examined around 110 trees located in a 16,000-acre plot of land owned by the North Carolina Nature Conservancy. The Bald Cypress trees are located along the Black River. Stahle noted, “It is exceedingly unusual to see an old-growth stand of trees along the whole length of a river like this. Bald cypress is valuable for timber and they have been heavily logged. Way less than 1 percent of the original virgin bald cypress forests have survived.” Katherine Skinner, executive director of The North Carolina Chapter of The Nature Conservancy said, “Dr. Stahle’s original work on the Black River, which showed trees dating from Roman times, inspired us to begin conservation on the Black more than two decades ago. This ancient forest gives us an idea of what much of North Carolina’s coastal plain looked like millennia ago. It is a source of inspiration and an important ecosystem. Without Dr. Stahle, it would have gone unprotected and likely destroyed.” Stahle said, “The area of old growth bald cypress was 10 times larger than I realized. We think there are older trees out there still.” The study is published in the journal Environmental Research Communications.