TIMES, TIME, AND HALF A TIME. A HISTORY OF THE NEW MILLENNIUM.

Comments on a cultural reality between past and future.

This blog describes Metatime in the Posthuman experience, drawn from Sir Isaac Newton's secret work on the future end of times, a tract in which he described Histories of Things to Come. His hidden papers on the occult were auctioned to two private buyers in 1936 at Sotheby's, but were not available for public research until the 1990s.



Wednesday, December 21, 2016

The Oldest Tree on Earth


A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Where Cool Things Happen.

Until 2012, the oldest confirmed tree in the world was 'Methuselah,' a Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) tree growing high in the White Mountains of eastern California, USA. Methuselah is 4,848 years old. In 2012, a nearby tree of the same species was found to be 5,066 years old (germination in 3050 BCE). As you can see from the video below, hikers can visit the grove where Methuselah and other Great Basin bristlecones live, aged 1,000-5,000 years old, but the wardens will not identify Methuselah or its older relative for fear that the trees may be vandalized.

Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, California (4 October 2015). Video Source: Youtube.

For a list of the top ten oldest forests in the world go here; the oldest individual trees are listed here. Virgin or ancient old-growth forests worldwide are listed here. Ancient woodlands are protected by many associations and national bodies, such as the Old Growth Forest Network; Rainforest Action Network; the Tree Council; UNESCO; and Greenpeace.

One of the most important stands of ancient forest in Europe is Poland's Białowieża Forest. That forest has a number of ancient pedunculate, or English oaks (Quercus robur), which have interesting names: Great Mamamuszi; the King of Nieznanowo; Emperor of the South; Emperor of the North; Southern Cross; the Guardian of Zwierzyniec; Barrel Oak; Dominator Oak (now dead); the famous Jagiełło Oak, which blew down on 2 November 1974; Tsar Oak; and Patriarch Oak. In 2016, the Polish government started logging this forest, see reports here, here, here, here. In 2016, Finland renewed logging of the country's ancient forests, an ongoing problem since 2003.

Other famous stretches of primeval, ancient, old growth forest, in no particular order, and an incomplete list:
A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Where Cool Things Happen.

A tree in the Methuselah Grove, California, USA. Image Source: Mother Nature Network.

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