A tree from the cypress family located in southern Chile may soon be named the oldest in the world. Nicknamed “Gran Abuelo” (Great Grandfather), scientists believe that its age exceeds 5,000 years, surpassing the mark of 4,850 for a pine tree in California, the current record holder.
With a trunk 4 meters in diameter and 28 meters high, the Gran Abuelo inhabits a forest in the region of Los Rios, 800 kilometers from the Chilean capital of Santiago. The tree was discovered in 1972, when forest ranger Anibal Henriquez was patrolling inside the national park where it lives.
Henriquez would like to keep the Patagonian cypress a secret, fearing for its safety. Today, however, Gran Abuelo is a tourist attraction, leading many people to walk for about an hour to reach it. To ensure there is no damage to the tree, the park has increased the number of rangers patrolling its region. The California pine, known as the “Methuselah,” is not known to the public.
Grandpa and his family
In 2020, researcher Antonio Lara and Jonathan Barichivich — Henriquez’s nephew — were able to extract a sample from the tree’s trunk, being able to count 2,400 years old. As the sample did not reach the center of it, the other 2,600 were estimated using dendrochronology techniques, the science that estimates the age of trees from the rings in the trunk.
Studying the sample can still give details about what happened in the environment throughout its history. Forest fires and earthquakes — including the biggest recorded in history, in 1960 — have already hit the region occupied by the tree.
Anibal and Jonathan are not the only relatives to cherish the Gran Abuelo. Nancy Henriquez, daughter of the guard who found the cypress, is now one of those responsible for ensuring its safety and longevity. The cousins believe the specimen to be priceless and Jonathan hopes to publish his studies attesting to its age soon.
For him, the important thing is not breaking the record, but what the Gran Abuelo means. “Ancient trees have very special genes and history, being a symbol of resistance and adaptation,” says the scientist.
Source: Science Alert
