The World’s Oldest Living Things: 14 Ancient Organisms
Discover 14 of the world's oldest living things, from ancient trees and fungi to a 15,000-year-old Antarctic sponge and 4,000-year-old coral. All over the world, you can find ancient organisms that have existed for thousands, sometimes even millions, of years: living testaments of endurance and adaptation amidst changing climates and environmental degradation. Many of these organisms are trees—especially, massive, hulking ones whose branches burrow deep and widespread under the Earth. Others are clonal colonies: intricately designed natural systems in which an organism copies itself ad infinitum. There are also the fungi, whose decentralized, underground networks stretch perpetually outward, and the deep-sea creatures whose murky residences protect them from decay. These organisms offer a fascinating portrait of life itself—reminders that we humans are but a blip in the history of this big, beautiful planet. From a small, mountain-top tree with a mighty long history to a towering yew that’s been worshiped by multiple faiths, these archaic lifeforms are time capsules as mysterious as they are beautiful. What Are the World’s Oldest Living Things? “Oldest” is not one definitive measurement but several, depending on what type of living thing you’re looking at. Some record-holders, like Utah’s Pando, are clonal colonies, while others, such as a spruce trunk, are individual, continuously growing organisms whose age is counted directly through rings, layers, or growth bands. Still others, like deep-sea sponges, grow so slowly that their age can only be estimated. Understanding which kind of “old” you’re looking at helps explain why the ages on this list vary so widely. The World’s Oldest Living Things at a Glance Living thing Type Estimated age Location Pando Clonal quaking aspen colony 1+ million years Utah, USA Honey Mushrooms Fungal network 2,400 years Oregon, USA Old Tjikko Norway spruce 9,550 years Sweden King Clone Creosote colony 11,700 years California, USA Methuselah Tree Bristlecone pine ~4,800 years California, USA Prometheus Bristlecone pine ~5,000 years Nevada, USA Li Jiawan Grand Ginkgo King Ginkgo ~4,000 years China Fortingall Yew Yew 2,000–5,000 years Scotland Llangernyw Yew Yew 4,000–5,000 years Wales Volcano Sponge Sponge ~15,000 years Antarctica Black coral Coral colony 4,000+ years New Zealand Fall is a popular time to visit Pando, as the trees turn a vibrant yellow. J Zapell/Public Domain 1. Pando, the Trembling Giant 📍 Richfield, Utah This grove in Utah’s Fishlake National Forest consists of 47,000 genetically identical quaking aspens, all of them sharing a single root system. Unlike many other trees, quaking aspens reproduce asexually by sprouting new stem’s from the parent’s lateral root. The grove’s nickname, Pando, is Latin for “I spread.” At 107 acres and 6,615 tons, Pando is one of the world’s largest living organisms. It’s also one of the oldest at over one million years old. When the thousands of quaking aspens’ leaves rustle in the wind, it produces a completely singular sound, furthering this ancient giant’s strange and astounding beauty. Fungus infestation was first investigated in Malheur National Forest in 1988. Charles de Mille-Isles CC BY 2.0 via Flickr 2. Honey Mushrooms 📍 Grant, Oregon This networked fungus in Malheur National Forest has been lovingly nicknamed the “Humongous Fungus” by locals for the whopping 2,2000 acres it covers. At 2,400 years old, it is also one of the world’s oldest fungi and is even bioluminescent—contributing to tales of “fairy lights” in the area. The fungus thrives underneath honey mushrooms on the forest floor, which feast on the roots of nearby conifers. In fact, scientists have only been able to estimate the fungus’ true size by studying the death of these trees. Old Tjikko was heavily damaged during a 2023 snowstorm but lived to tell the tale. Karl Brodowsky, CC BY-SA 3.0 3. Old Tjikko 📍 Älvdalen S, Sweden This Norway Spruce atop Sweden’s Fulufajallet Mountain may not look like much but is, in fact, 9,550 years old, having first sprouted near the end of the last ice age. Researchers have found the surrounding trees to be quite ancient as well, with at least 20 different spruces over 8,000 years old. To further add to this scraggly tree’s charm, Old Tjikko was named after discoverer Leif Kullman’s beloved dog. King Clone Ecological Reserve is home to various species of birds, reptiles, rodents, and insects. Klokeid, Public Domain 4. King Clone 📍 Lucerne Valley, California These Creosote bushes in the Mojave Desert are part of a clonal colony, meaning—much like Pando—they grew from a single original plant and are considered to all be the same organism. Researchers measured the original bush’s age using radiocarbon dating and measurement of growth, both of which put it at approximately 11,700 years old. The tree is nearly 5,000 years old. Yen Chao CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr 5. Methuselah Tree 📍 Big Pine, California Named after the Biblical figure that lived for 969 years, the Methuselah Tree grows in eastern California’s “Forest of Ancients,” though its exact location is kept secret to protect it against vandalism. It is estimated that the tree germinated in 2832 B.C., making it even older than the Egyptian Pyramids and the world’s second oldest tree (beat out by Sweden’s Old Tjikko). The tree is even more remarkable for having survived in such a hostile environment of arid soil, extreme elevation, and fierce winds. Prometheus was once considered the world’s oldest known non-clonal organism. Jrbouldin at English Wikipedia, Public domain 6. Prometheus Tree Stump 📍 Baker, Nevada The Great Basin Bristlecone Pine, known alternately as Prometheus and WPN-114, grew to be almost 5,000 years old before a student researcher accidentally cut it down. Controversy swirled around the event and the errant student, but ultimately the parks department simply upped its security around the other ancient bristlecone pines. Today, the remains of the tree can still be found on Wheeler Peak, cracked and split but still mostly intact. There have been at least five generations of trunks sprouting since the tree first started growing. Peter Del Tredici via Arnoldia 7. Li Jiawan Grand Ginkgo King 📍Longnan, China In the low plain of a valley lives the world’s largest ginkgo tree, reaching up nearly 100 feet and dating back 4,000 years. The main tree is actually a cluster, having grown a number of trunks in response to damage and age. It’s also said that the massive hollow space at the center of the cluster was used as a shelter by a cattle farmer in the 1970s. Other folktales, too, have turned the Grand Ginkgo King into something of a local legend. In one story, the tree grows from the grave of a scholar who was wrongfully killed by a corrupt government. Another tale spins it so that the scholar garners many accolades then becomes a tree, vexing the local king. Either way, the ginkgo is clearly far wiser than us humans. Early Christians are thought to have appropriated yews from pagans, building churches and consecrating graveyards near them. Paul Hermans, CC BY-SA 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons 8. The Fortingall Yew 📍 Fortingall, Scotland The exact age of this yew tree is a subject of debate amongst locals, with estimates ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 years old. Whatever the truth may be, the yew is undoubtedly ancient, watching over the countryside long before the Fortingall Church and graveyard were built nearby. In fact, researchers believe that pagans once venerated this and other yew trees, associating them with death and the afterlife. Legend has it that this particular yew was the play spot of a young Pontius Pilate, who is alleged to have grown up nearby. The tree is still fruitful today, having been grafted with the cultivar Tsounati. Johan Wieland CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr 9. Llangernyw Yew 📍 Abergele, Wales This yew in Conwy, Wales, is guessed to be between 4,000 and 5,000 years old, and with a small field of tombstones resting beside it, the cleft trunk has become like a living portal to the world of the dead. Due to its ancient Bronze Age origins, the yew was designated as one of the 50 Great British Trees in 2002. The tree also plays a prominent role in Welsh mythology, where it is often associated with a spirit known as Angelystor, or the “Recording Angel.” Each year on Halloween, the Angel is said to deliver a prophecy foretelling the names of parishioners who will die before the next Halloween. The tree is still fruitful today, having been grafted with the cultivar Tsounati. Johan Wieland CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr 10. Olive Tree of Vouves 📍 Ano Vouves, Greece Despite being over 2,000 years old, this tree continues to produce plenty of olives, Vouves’s heritage product that dates back to the Neolithic Period. Two cemeteries from the Geometric Period (900 BC - 700 BC) were discovered near the tree—further evidence of olives’ importance to the ancient Greeks. Today, the Olive Tree of Vouves is arguably the most important tree in Greece, and it’s got the honors to prove it: laurels for the 2004 Athens Olympics and 2008 Beijing Olympics were crafted using its branches, and it has been declared a protected natural monument. It is named after Tāne, the Māori god of forests and of birds. itravelNZ CC BY 2.0 via Flickr 11. Tāne Mahuta 📍 Waipoua Forest, New Zealand Also known as the “God of the Forest,” this giant kauri is New Zealand’s largest tree and is somewhere between 1,250 and 2,500 years old. Identified in the 1920s when surveyors were working on State Highway 12, Tāne Mahuta is a remnant of the ancient subtropical rainforest that once covered this section of the North Auckland Peninsula. The cathedral has been on the UNESCO list of World Heritage Sites since 1985. Stefan Schäfer, Lich, CC BY-SA 4.0 12. The Thousand-Year Rose 📍 Hildesheim, Germany This bushy flower on the side of Germany’s Hildesheim Cathedral is thought to have been planted in the early 800s, when the church itself was founded. It slowly crept up the wall of the apse for hundreds of years and still buds and blooms each year, producing pale pink flowers. The flower has had a number of run-ins with death throughout its long life, including Allied bomb hits during WWII. The plant was completely destroyed above ground, but remarkably, new branches grew from the rubble. Today, the base of the Thousand-Year Rose is protected by an iron fence, with each of the central roots named and catalogued. The sponge’s most common predator is the seastar Acodontaster conspicuus, which can accumulate in bunches on the sponge and slowly kill it. Rob Robbins/CC BY-SA 4.0 via Earth Ref 13. Volcano Sponge 📍 McMurdo Sound, Antarctica At 15,000 years old, the volcano sponge is the world’s oldest living animal; however, given that it can live up to 470 feet underwater, it is also one of the most difficult to study and understand. The sponge and its characteristics have been most successfully studied with the help of a SCINI ROV: a Submersible Capable of under Ice Navigation and Imaging Remotely Operated Vehicle. The sponge is pear-shaped and usually white or pale-yellow, with an interior home to many smaller creatures like amphipods, isopods, and polychaete worms. Research has found that the sponges grow at a minuscule—nearly unobservable—rate. This is due to the extremity of the cold, underwater habitat, which slows down the sponge’s biological processes and increases its longevity. Dolphins, New Zealand Fur Seals, and Fjordland Crested Penguins also frequent the waters. Brian Powers CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr 14. Milford Sound 📍 Milford Sound, New Zealand In the Tasman Sea, huge granite cliffs carved by ancient glaciers are home to some of the most unique flora and fauna around, including ancient clams called brachiopods under the floor of the fjord. The sound also contains the world’s largest population of black coral trees which, at over 4,000 years old, are among the oldest continuously living organisms on the planet. In total, there are approximately seven million coral colonies in Milford Sound, which visitors can experience at the Milford Discovery Centre and Underwater Observatory.
