Natural History Wanderings

Photographed in the Patriarch Grove on White Mountain July 7, 2021.

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from Wikipedia

Pinus longaeva (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine) is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah. Methuselah is a bristlecone pine that is 4,852 years old and has been credited as the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth. To protect it, the exact location of this tree is kept secret. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada’s state trees. The tree  named “The Partriarch” in 1951 it was added to the American Forestry Association’s list of big trees as the largest Bristlecone PIne.(included in photo slideshow below)

These ancient trees have a gnarled and stunted appearance, especially those found at high altitudes, and have reddish-brown bark with deep fissures. As the tree ages, much of its vascular cambium layer may die. In very old specimens, often only a narrow strip of living tissue connects the roots to a handful of live branches.

You can see large high quality version of these photo and other photos from the Eastern Sierra/White Mt. trip in a Flickr collections at Sierra Nevada and White Mt. Trip July 2021