The World’s Oldest Tree

28 The World’s Oldest Tree Some people have the strangest hobbies. They're not content with normal hobbies such as collecting stamps or taking photographs. They're inspired by doing things that most people would never do. My friend's uncle has a weird hobby like that. He spends his retirement time travelling to see some of the oldest things on Earth. Last year, he went to see the world's oldest tree. Or at least, that's what he thought. It's in California, and it's 4, 770 years old. It's called Methuselah, located in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest. It's high in the mountains at an altitude about 3, 500 metres. All of the trees in this forest are at least 4, 000 years old. But Methuselah is the oldest. You might expect this to be a really big tree. But that's not the case at all. In fact, it's quite small. It's only 15 metres tall, and its trunk is not really that big either. It grows only a few centimetres a year.

Why does it live so long? You might assume that for a tree to live so long it would need perfect conditions to survive, such as plenty of water, a good moderate climate and rich soil for its roots to gather food. But just the opposite is true. The place where it lives gets really cold, sometimes there is no water, and the soil has almost no nutrients. In fact, this tree's difficult life makes it strong. That's why it has lived so long. Want to hear something funny? When my friend's uncle returned from his trip to see Methuselah last year, he read an article in a newspaper. It was about the world's oldest tree. He was surprised to hear that a tree was recently discovered in Sweden that is 9, 550 years old. You can imagine his astonishment! That tree is nearly twice as old as Methuselah. My friend's uncle doesn't give up, though. Next year, he's going to Sweden to see this tree. That's the way hobbies work. You set your goals, and you do what it takes to achieve them.