News and Views
The Ancient Trees
Trees are guardians, living essence and life force of spiritual realm with the aura of power, which is visible to those who are in total balance and harmony. The lore, which surrounds a particular tree, often reflects the power the old ones sensed and drew from their presence. Trees are a living reminder of event beyond our comprehension. There is a mystery about such events that leads us to hold up the image of some trees as worthy of reverence, being a witness to those happenings. To be able to touch and see such a trees is a powerful experience, unable to grasp the complexity of these feelings except admiration and superiority. And here are such a trees: The Ancient Trees:
Prometheus Tree

Prometheus - was the oldest known Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing near the tree line on Wheeler Peak in eastern Nevada, United States. The tree, which was at least 4862 years old and possibly more than 5000 years, was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and United States Forest Service personnel for research purposes. Prometheus was a living member of a population of bristlecone pine trees growing near the tree line on the lateral moraine of a former glacier on Wheeler Peak, in Great Basin National Park, eastern Nevada. Wheeler Peak is the highest mountain in the Snake Range, and the highest mountain entirely within the state of Nevada. The bristlecone pine population on this mountain is divided into at least two distinct sub-populations, one of which is accessible by a popular interpretive trail. Prometheus, however, grew in an area reachable only by off-trail hiking. In either 1958 or 1961, a group of naturalists who admired the grove in which the tree grew gave names to a number of the largest or most distinctive trees, including Prometheus.
Methuselah Tree

Methuselah -is a Great Basin Bristlecone Pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing high in the White Mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. Its measured age of 4,842 years makes it the world's oldest known living tree. The ancient tree is named after Methuselah, a Biblical figure having the longest mentioned lifespan in the Bible of 969 years, its exact location remains a closely-held secret protected by the U.S. Forest Service. The picture is not an actual picture of Methuselah, but it likely looks very similar.
Among the White Mountain specimens, the oldest trees are found on north-facing slopes, with an average of 2,000 years, as compared to the 1,000 year average on the southern slopes. The climate and the durability of their wood can preserve them long after death, with dead trees as old as 7,000 years persisting next to live ones.
Among the White Mountain specimens, the oldest trees are found on north-facing slopes, with an average of 2,000 years, as compared to the 1,000 year average on the southern slopes. The climate and the durability of their wood can preserve them long after death, with dead trees as old as 7,000 years persisting next to live ones.
Patagonian Cypress

Alerce Tree: In 1993 scientists discovered this 150-foot tall Patagonian Cypress in the Andes Mountains of Chile. Unlike the Llangernyw Yew and the Sarv-e Abarqu, Alerce has been given an exact age of 3,637 years old using tree-ring width chronology. This makes it the second oldest tree to have its exact age calculated.
The Muir Snag

The Muir Snag - (giant sequoia tree) Thought to be the oldest giant sequoia, this now dead tree is still standing but only at 140 feet (43 m) tall. It has a maximum base diameter of 35.9 feet (10.9 m) and before it died its perimeter could have been as much as 110 feet (34 m). This tree is thought to have been more than 3500 years old when it died.
The Senator

The Senator: This is a Bald Cypress located in Big Tree Park in Florida. It is estimated to be nearly 3,500 years old and was once used as a landmark by Seminole Indians and other local tribes. It also holds the title of biggest tree by volume east of the Mississippi.
The Bennett Juniper

Juniperus Occidentalis - (Western Juniper and Sierra Juniper) is a shrub or tree native to the western United States, growing in mountains at altitudes of 800-3,000 m (rarely down to 100 m). The Bennett Juniper in the Stanislaus National Forest of California is considered the oldest and largest example at possibly 3000 years old, with a height of 26 m and a diameter of 3.88 m.
The Oldest Olive Tree

The Oldest Olive Tree - At the Santa Iria de Azóia,Lisbon, Portugal, , was certified last July 10 ,2011, a very ancient olive tree to be 2850 years.
Pando

Pando: Also known as the Trembling Giant, Pando is a clonal colony of a single male Quaking Aspen located in Utah. Each genetically-identical individual tree (or “stem”) is connected by a single root system. Spreading across more than 100 acres, Pando is believed to be over 80,000 years old and collectively weighs over 6,600 tons, making it the heaviest organism on the planet, as well as one of the oldest.
Sarv-e Abarqu

Sarv-e Abarqu: The “Cypress of Abarqu” is an ancient cypress tree located in Abarkooh, Iran. Also known as the Zoroastrian Sarv, this tree took root between 4,000 and 4,500 years ago, making it the oldest living organism in Asia.
Old Tjikko

Old Tjikko: Who would think such a scraggy tree could be so old? Do not let looks deceive you. This 16-foot tall Norway Spruce, situated in the scrubby Fulufjället Mountains of Sweden, is an incredible 9,550 years old! This is the world’s oldest single-stemmed clonal tree. The actual tree trunk itself is only a few hundred years old – it is the root system that has stayed alive for nearly 10,000 years.
Llangernyw Yew

Llangernyw Yew: A rural, Welsh-speaking village in north Wales is the site of Llangernyw Yew, the world’s third oldest, non-clonal tree. Located in the graveyard of St. Digain’s parish church, among primitive stone crosses made during the Dark Ages, this mighty yew tree has stood here for nearly 4,000 years.
list of oldest trees http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_oldest_trees
General Sherman

General Sherman This towering giant sequoia stretches 275 feet, about as tall as a 27-story high-rise building, and is 102.6 feet around. That makes it the largest (by volume) individual tree in the world. The general lives in the Sequoia National Park in California. Scientists believe this tree could be anywhere from 2,300 years old to 2,700 years old.
Jomon Sugi

Jōmon Sugi This cryptomeria tree’s 83-foot height and 53-foot girth makes it the largest conifer in Japan. The tree grows in a misty, old-growth forest on the north face of the tallest mountain on Yakushima island in Japan. Tree rings indicate the venerable cryptomeria is at least 2,000 years old, though some estimate it could be as old as 7,000 years.
Te Matua Ngahere

Te Matua Ngahere This majestic Kauri tree is nestled in the last stretch of a primeval rainforest in Waipoua Forest, New Zealand. The tree is thought to be around 2,000 years old. With a 52.5-foot girth, Te Matua Ngahere is the fattest tree in New Zealand. The giant, whose name means “Father of the Forest” in Maori, was severely damaged in a storm in 2007.
Kongeegen

This gnarled, ancient oak tree is set away in the Jægerspris North Forest in Denmark. Scientists estimate the “King Oak” is between 1,500 to 2,000 years old, making it a contender for the title of oldest individual tree in Northern Europe. Though it germinated in an open meadow, the trees growing around it are slowly closing in on the old oak and killing it.
The Pechanga Great Oak Tree

The Pechanga Great Oak Tree - The Great Oak is the largest
natural-growing, indigenous coast live oak (Quercus agrifolia ) wi'aashal
tree in the United States and is estimated to be 1,500 years old, making it one
of the oldest oak trees in the world. The tree has been used by countless
generations as a gathering place.
The Olive Tree of Vouves

The Olive tree of Vouves (Greek Ελιά Βουβών) is an olive tree in the village of Ano Vouves in Municipality of Kolymbari in Chania Prefecture in Crete in Greece. It is known to be the oldest olive tree in the world and still produces olives today. The use of tree ring analysis has proven the tree to be at least 2000 years old. On the other end of the scale, scientists from the University of Crete have estimated it to be 4,000 years old. The trunk has a perimeter of 12.5 m and a diameter of 4.6 m. It belongs to the variety tsounati. It is considered by some a natural monument.