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Standing within a grove of ancient bristlecones along Trail Ridge near Boundary Peak, Nevada. The White Mountains are known for having abundant bristlecone pine groves, the more famous Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest at the south end of the range contains the Methuselah tree which under a microscope counted 4,789 rings, making it the oldest known living tree in the world (a bristlecone pine called Prometheus was the oldest until 1964 when it was cut down). That would make the germination date at 2833 BC. The stumps of dead trees are very resistant to rotting that some of them have been standing for an additional few thousand years. Baby bristlecone pines have less than 1% survival rate upon germination from the harsh environment & a fully mature tree will replace its needles every 30-40 years, hence why the ground is relatively clear. The pines themselves are not especially tall in height, maybe 30-40 feet at most. They are probably the slowest growing organism you will ever encounter.
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