Bristlecone Pine trees are the oldest living organisms, and those at Great Basin National Park are over 5,000 years old! A major reason for their longevity lies in the fact that a Bristlecone's tough alpine environment - characterized by cold, wind and hail - causes it to grow very slowly. This creates incredibly dense wood - so dense, in fact, that the pests which would shorten the lives of other tree species cannot even get in! Thus, the very environmental conditions that make life so tough on the Bristlecone are also the reason why it is able to survive - and thrive - for many millennia!
Photo: Bristlecone Pine cone and tree; Great Basin National Park, NV; August 3, 2014
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