The most ancient plants in the world. Amazing plants. The most ancient contemporaries

Life is a miracle that cannot be repeated (no matter how hard scientists try). All the variety of forms of flora and fauna is the result of painstaking and slow selection. Thanks to the fact that billions of years ago the first organic molecules appeared in the primordial soup, now living organisms are distributed almost everywhere. All of them are in perfect balance between individual species and it may seem that the harmony of the extravaganza of life will never stop. However, the Universe has its own opinion on this matter: meteors, volcanic activity or changes in the composition of the atmosphere led to the fact that harmony came to naught. Moreover, this happened, although not often, but regularly (and by the standards of geological periods, almost every day). It should be understood that 98% of all organisms living on the planet have already died out and died. And some of them were (by our standards) quite strange. Ten such plants will be discussed today.

Fossilized trunk and cones

In 1919, a botanist named Anselmo Windhausen discovered that the inhabitants of Argentine Patagonia were collecting fossils, attributing to them miraculous properties. The scientist was interested in fossil remains and in 1923 he discovered the petrified forest of Cerro Cuadrado. The age of this formation was 160,000,000 years. Studies have shown that the forest was located in this area from the beginning to the middle of the Jurassic. Then a powerful volcanic eruption turned the tree trunks into stone. Analysis of the stone provided new information. At that time, the forest consisted of two plant species: Par araucaria patagonica and Araucaria mirabilis. It was Arukaria that Mirabili and left behind mysterious petrified formations. They were plant cones. They are perfectly preserved, as well as the trunks found right there due to erosion.

These trees reached a height of 100 meters. Their diameter was three meters. The cones were spherical formations, their diameter was 3–4 cm. The closest relative of these giants is Bunia Bunia in southeastern Australia, in the state of Queensland. The name Araucaria mirabilis comes from the toponym "Aroko" and the Latin word mirabilis, which means "stunning".

Computer model of cooksonia

At the moment, this plant is considered the oldest representative of the flora on the planet. Cooksonia grew on Earth more than 400,000,000 years ago. In height, this plant did not exceed a few centimeters and was the first living organism with a stem (albeit very primitive when compared with modern plants). Cooksonia reproduced by spores, which were in spherical processes at the end of the stems. Ferns reproduce in a similar way now. However, these plants had neither leaves nor roots. Scientists still don't know how they were attached to the ground. Some botanists believe that the roots simply did not survive. Others are sure: the rootless system means that the cooksonia lived on water or even under water.

Cooksonia lived freely in the late Silurian geological period. The oldest fossils have been found in Ireland. Their age is 425 million years. This plant grew on coasts from 45 degrees north latitude to 30 degrees south latitude. Evolution did not stand still, and by the early Devonian period, other types of plants appeared on the scene. In any case, dominance over millions of years has allowed the cooksonia to pave the way for new species and creatures.

Lepidodendron scales

Lepidodendrons were the most common plant species in the Carboniferous geological period. At that time, there was a record amount of oxygen in the Earth's atmosphere. Because of this, representatives of the flora grew rapidly and died just as quickly. The temperature at that time was much higher, especially in the Northern Hemisphere. Lepidodendrons covered almost all the lands, so now most of the coal is their fossilized remains. The Carboniferous period ended 300 million years ago, but fossils of lepidodendrons have been found in China. Their age is 205 million years. The closest relatives of these plants are modern mosses. The difference is only in size: lepidodendrons reached a height of 40 meters, and the diameter of the trunks exceeded 2 meters. The flesh was covered with a thick layer of bark.

These plants grew in small groups and their lives were astonishingly short: 10–15 years. Diamond-shaped scales remained in place of fallen leaves and it was possible to find out the age of the plant from them. Lepidodendrons had no branches: only a trunk and foliage. Like all primitive trees, lepidodendrons reproduced by spores towards the end. life cycle. In the Mesozoic period, this species completely disappeared, giving way to more perfect representatives of the flora.

Trade in silphium on a Greek platter

Historian John M. Riddle (University of North Carolina) has studied ancient civilizations throughout his practice. He put forward the theory that the ancient Greeks, Egyptians and even the Romans controlled the population. Many scientists believe that the reason for this is the high infant mortality and military losses. However, Riddle is sure that it was during quiet periods that the decline in population was especially noticeable. Therefore, at that time there was a powerful and well-known contraceptive. The professor considers them to be sylphium, a close relative of common parsley. The healing properties of this plant have been widely known since ancient times. Not much information has survived about silphium, but ancient texts also mention that it can be used to avoid unwanted pregnancy.

Sylph grew in the coastal area of ​​modern Libya. Here the ancient Greeks in 630 BC built a colony called Kyrenia. The city grew rapidly and grew rich, mainly due to the trade in silphium throughout the Mediterranean. Even on Cyrene coins this plant was depicted. Even the Egyptians and Minoans developed a special hieroglyph for sylph. The consumption of the plant was so active that by the first century BC the species ceased to exist. This happened because the ancient people could not tame sylphs and it grew only in the wild. It was impossible to control the collection, as the regular troops could not cope with the smugglers, who landed on the coast at night and harvested. Pliny the Elder claimed that the last stalk of silphium was presented to the emperor Nero, who immediately ate the offering. It is possible that the information was inaccurate and this plant still exists, but under a different name.

Cut of a petrified trunk

This tree has a lot in common with Araucaria mirabilis, although they are separated by several tens of millions of years. As the name suggests, Araucarioxylon arizonicum was abundant in what is now Arizona. However, 207 million years ago, this entire lush forest was suddenly covered in a layer of lava and volcanic ash, turning the forest into fossils. Huge trunks can be seen today in national park"Stone Forest". The trees reached a height of 70 meters. The closest relatives of this giant are the Chilean Araucaria and the variegated Araucaria.

The Navajo Indians believe that the stone trunks are the bones of the Great Giant, who was killed by their ancestors in ancient times. In the Paiute tribe, they think differently: these are the arrows of the god of thunder. Only in 1888, the curator of the Smithsonian University, F.H. Knollton, determined the origin of these fossils. As soon as the information became public, people rushed to collect stone wood to make furniture, tiles and decorations from it. In 1902, the park became a protected area, and in 1922 it was given the status of a reserve. This has reduced fossil theft, but approximately 13 tons of araucarioxylon arizonicum petrified wood is taken by tourists every year.

Glassopteris leaf prints

In 1912, the German geophysicist, meteorologist and polar explorer Alfred Lothar Wegener claimed that the continents drift on the surface of our planet. Thanks to modern research and satellite imagery, we know this happens all the time. However, until the middle of the twentieth century, this theory was perceived ambiguously. However, it was Wegener who saw the similarity of the outlines of Africa and South America, which look like two puzzles. To prove his theory, the scientist analyzed fossil data on both sides of the Atlantic. A great number of matches were found. And chief among them was the glassopteris.

Thanks to the wide distribution of this plant in the Southern Hemisphere, Wegener was able to prove that once Africa, Antarctica, South America and Australia had common borders and belonged to the mainland known as Gondwana. Glassopteris was the dominant plant species during the Permian period 300,000,000 years ago. This extinct plant was a relative of the modern fern and reached 30 meters in height. There were several species in the family of glassopteris, but very little is known about their differences.

This uncertainty is due to the fact that it remains a mystery whether the fossilized remains are parts of the same species at different stages of development, or whether they belong to different types. It is known for certain that the Glassopteris were deciduous plants and shed their leaves regularly. They grew almost everywhere, but there is no complete information about how this tree looked. According to recent data, glassopteris were large shrubs, similar to modern magnolia or ginkgo.

First Franklinia bloom in 200 years

As you might expect, this plant is named after Benjamin Franklin. Its other name is Franklinia alatamaha. Franklinia was discovered by two botanists, John Bartram and his son, William, in 1765. Franklinia grew in a narrow strip of forest near the Alatamaha River in Macintosh County, Georgia. Scientists have described the plant as a shrub 7 meters tall with large and fragrant flowers. The plant has dark green leaves that turn red, yellow and even pink by autumn. The shrub bloomed until the first frost. When the Bartrams returned to the area in 1770, they found that the Franklin population had been greatly reduced. Since 1803, there has not been a single recorded case of the discovery of Franklinia alatamaha in the wild.

The cause of extinction is still unknown, but scientists suggest that the closeness of the species and its habitat is to blame. Perhaps the cause was pesticides from cotton fields located up the river. Fortunately, biologists took the seeds of this plant with them and grew them in greenhouses. Now franklinia is popular garden plant. On stamps issued in 1969, the Franklinia symbolizes the southern states. Recently, biologists have begun to conduct experiments to return Franklinia alatamaha to the natural environment of the Alatamaha River, where the plant was discovered several centuries ago.

Strychnos electri - 30 million years ago (Dominican Republic)

In 1986, an entomologist named George Poinar of Oregon state university went to the Dominican Republic to bring over 500 pieces of amber, which preserved various fossils. All of them were found in local mines. Over the next 30 years, Poinar researched insects encased in fossilized resin. However, plants were also found among his finds. He sent the pictures to his colleague, Lena Struve of Rutgers University. Since the flowers are perfectly preserved, it was possible to find out that they belong to the famous Strychnos family of poisonous flowers. They contain strychnine, which is used in pesticides and poisons.

The plant was named electri (from the Greek electrum - amber). It is believed that the sample is the oldest find of flora preserved in amber. He is from 15 to 45 million years old. The discovery may shed light on the development of the species itself and many other plants. In addition, strychnos electri has lain on the shelves for almost 30 years, so it is possible that in the near future new species and other representatives of the world of ancient flora will appear among the amber finds.

Symbol of Easter Island in the Berlin Botanical Garden

Easter Island is one of the most remote places on the planet from civilization. To the nearest islands - thousands of kilometers (To South America - almost 4,000 km). The island's most famous attraction is its 900 stone idols, or "moai". They were built by local residents in the 13th century. Not everyone knows that before the island was not so deserted. For centuries, people have cut down the forests that densely cover the island. Because of this, at the turn of the 17th century, civilization on the island fell into decay. The arrival of the Europeans completed the process. The Dutch explorer Jacob Roggewijn, who discovered the island on Easter in 1722, noted that the soil here is fertile. However, now less than 10% of the island's area is covered with endemic plant species, and the topsoil is fertilized with the help of imported chemicals.

The Toromiro tree, which is one of the symbols of the island, no longer grows there. the last copy was cut down in the crater of the Rano Kao volcano in 1965. This small tree was no more than two meters tall with bright red bark. In the 1950s, the seeds of sophora toromiro were collected and now this species grows in some collections in Chile and in European botanical gardens. Experiments to return the national symbol of Easter Island to its natural habitat have so far been unsuccessful.

Prototaxites - 350 million years ago (worldwide)

These mysterious fossilized organisms were discovered in 1859 in Canada. From day one, they baffled the scientific community. Since then, fossilized prototaxites have been found all over the world. Their height is about 8 meters. The first members of the species date back 420 million years, and the youngest disappeared from the fossil record about 70 million years later. Most scientists believed that this was some form of lichen or algae, but there was no evidence for this version. Only in 2001 did Professor Francis Huber of the National Museum natural history found a solution in Washington: prototaxites were mushrooms. He made this conclusion based on comparing the tissues of modern mushrooms with fossils.

There was no hard evidence, but that all changed when another paleontologist, Kevin Boyce of the University of Chicago, didn't carbon-analyze it. The ratio and structural features of carbon molecules in the fossils made it possible to prove that prototaxites were not plants, which means that they were giant mushrooms that reigned on planet Earth at that time.

The bowels of the planet keep a huge number of secrets about the past, so we can say with confidence that there are even more discoveries of fantastic species of flora and fauna that once existed on our blue ball.

Plants play an important role on the planet. It's no secret that trees are the lungs of the planet, and flowers are the best decoration parks and the globe. The first plants existed long before the appearance of man himself - geologists still find their fossilized remains today. But what plants of our time can be considered the most ancient? And have those rare ancient specimens survived to this day?

1 The oldest plant in the world - Old Tikko

He is 9550 years old. This is a common spruce, officially recognized as the oldest clonal type tree on earth. It grows in the national park of Sweden in the province of Dalarna.

2

One of the most ancient plants on earth is a tree with the interesting name "glyptostroboid metasequoia". It was believed that it had died long ago, but in 1943 a living representative of this genus was discovered in China. After examining the remains and materials taken from a living tree, it was found that their age does not differ much.

3

Brazil boasts the oldest coniferous tree. This is the Patriarch of the forest, who is already over 3000 years old. Unfortunately, the Patriarch grows in the very center of the clearing zone, which means that it risks being destroyed every day.

4

In Taiwan, until 1998, there was a tree with an age of 3,000 years: Alishan Sacred Tree from the genus of cypress, in other words, red cypress. Today, a fence has been erected around its trunk, testifying to the holiness and value of the plant.

5

In 1968, the Suga Jamon tree was discovered in Japan on the island of Yakushima. Its age is estimated in the range from 2,500 to 7,200 years. It is impossible to determine the exact date because the inside of the wood has completely rotted away - this often happens with old plants. The plant belongs to the species "Japanese Cryptomeria". Its circumference is 16.2 m, height - 25.3 m.

6

In Italy, the Cormac Tree grows - this is the oldest tree, which is also called the European olive. He is about 3,000 years old, and "lives" it in Sardinia. Well, if you think about it, there is nothing surprising in the fact that it is in Italy that the oldest olive tree is located.

7

Hundred horse chestnut - a tree of the "sowing chestnut" type. It got its name because of the legend, according to which one hundred knights were able to hide from the rain under its crown. Its representatives today are also in Russia - in the south Krasnodar Territory. The main plant, which is already more than 3,000 years old, grows in Sicily. It is this tree, according to the official data of the Guinness Book of Records, that is the thickest: the size of its circumference is almost 60 meters.

8

Fitzroy cypress is the oldest representative of the genus Fitzroy. Now it is on the verge of extinction. Under natural conditions, these trees grow in South America and Patagonia. The climate of Sochi is also well suited for them. The oldest representative with a height of 58 m and a diameter of 2.4 meters can be seen in the Argentine National Park. Its age is over 2600 years.

9

A very interesting specimen grows in the California National Park. This is a "mammoth tree" named General Sherman. Its age exceeds 2500 years. total weight the plant is almost 2,000 tons, and the height reaches 85 meters. It is not only one of the oldest, but also the largest tree on Earth.

10

Sri Maha Bodiya from the genus of ficuses is a sacred tree of Buddhists. They believe that it was under him that the Buddha attained enlightenment. The height of the tree does not exceed 30 meters, and the age is more than 2,300 years.

The list of the oldest plants on the planet can be continued. Some of them were cut down due to safety measures, many were destroyed by poachers, but most of the earth's centenarians have survived to this day and can tell us about the past of the Earth.

The first representatives of the flora appeared on the planet more than 2 billion years ago, in an era that researchers call Archaea. Consider the most ancient plants on Earth - what they looked like and what role they played in the evolutionary process.

Archean era

This period is separated from us by billions of years, so the data on what living organisms existed at that time are very conditional and often have the character of hypotheses. Scientists have little material for research, since the representatives of this ancient time did not leave any traces behind them. In this geological era, there was no oxygen in the atmosphere, so only those organisms that did not need it could survive. Features of the plant world of the Archean era are as follows:

• The most ancient plants on Earth are considered to be blue-green algae, the fact that they already existed is evidenced by organic substances - marble, limestone.
• Later, colonial algae appeared.
• The next stage in the development of flora is the appearance of photosynthetic organisms. They took in carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and gave off oxygen.

It can be concluded that algae are the most ancient plants of the Earth, their role was more than significant: it was these tiny representatives of the flora that managed to fill the atmosphere with oxygen necessary for life and made it possible for further evolution. Living organisms were able to leave the sea and move to land.

Proterozoic

The next stage in the development of the most ancient plants on Earth is the Proterozoic era, it was then that many varieties of algae originated:

• red;
• brown;
• green.

It was during this era that a clear division of organisms into plants and animals occurred. The former could synthesize oxygen, while the latter did not possess this ability.

Paleozoic

The most ancient plants on Earth are algae, it is to them that we owe the appearance of an oxygen-rich atmosphere. They made our world habitable. In the first two periods of the Paleozoic, the flora was represented exclusively by algae, but other plants gradually appeared:

• During the Silurian period, spore plants were formed. Soil appeared, so they could grow on land.
• Rhinophytes, the simplest representatives of the fauna, arose in Delour.
• Then there are club mosses and great-ferns, gymnosperms.
• During the Carboniferous, horsetail-like, ferns are born.

The first forests of huge horsetails, ferns and club mosses appear on the planet. In the Carboniferous period, club mosses and calamites reach their peak, which often towered 30-40 meters above the ground. Gradually dying off, these plants formed reserves of coal, which mankind uses to this day. The most ancient plants on Earth played a crucial role, giving us a valuable mineral. Without coal, the development of industry would not have been possible.

In the Permian period, some coniferous species are formed.

Exit of plants to land: features of the process

The most ancient plants on Earth that left the water element and moved to land, as researchers believe, were algae and lichens. They did not leave any traces behind them, and conclusions about their existence are made only by indirect signs:

• The formation of rocks. This process is possible only with the participation of living organisms.
• The process of soil formation in water could not go on - this indicates that the plants have already climbed to the surface of the earth.
• Now fossil-like algae are found on land in the form of plaque on stones and tree bark, in conditions of increased importance. Therefore, the researchers suggest that in ancient periods they could also adapt to life outside the sea.

In the later periods of the Paleozoic, land plants appear that have not survived to this day. Only their petrified spores have survived. They are very similar to the spores of liverworts, modern plants related to mosses. It can be concluded that the most ancient plants on Earth are mosses, while horsetails "came" out of the sea and settled on land during the Late Paleozoic.

First forests

The first representatives of the flora preferred to settle in damp places, so fern forests were often buried in water. The oldest forests were shallow water bodies, similar to swamps, but devoid of a peat layer. It was here that giant ferns grew. Such an ecosystem is often referred to as a forest-reservoir.

First gymnosperms

The most ancient plants on Earth reproduced by spores, which were very vulnerable and could die in adverse environmental conditions. Therefore, the appearance of gymnosperms was the most important step on the path of evolution. Seeds had a number of advantages over spores:

• they had a nutrient supply;
• could survive adverse conditions;
• not afraid of exposure to UV rays and drying;

Mesozoic

At this time, the most important processes take place:

• formation of continents;
• the birth of lakes and seas;
• climate change.

Vegetable world is also undergoing significant changes: giant ferns and club mosses are dying out, and gymnosperms of coniferous trees are spreading. Plant imprints with angiosperm-like features have been found in beds from the early Cretaceous and Jurassic. These were primitive and few forms. Angiosperms became widespread in the Middle Cretaceous, about a hundred million years ago. However, by the end of the period, they had become the dominant form of plant life on Earth. The plant world became more and more similar to what we are used to.

Features of the flora of the Mesozoic era are as follows:

• The appearance of vessels in plants, the functions of which were to conduct water and nutrients.
• A reproductive organ is formed - a flower. Thanks to pollination by insects, flowering plants quickly spread across the continents.
• The predecessors of modern cypresses and pines appear.

We examined which plants are the most ancient on Earth, traced the main paths of the evolutionary development of flora over geological epochs. Despite the fact that the first algae did not leave any traces behind them, their role is enormous: they were able to fill the atmosphere of the planet with oxygen and made it possible for living organisms to reach land.

Our planet has not always been green. A long time ago, when life was just emerging, the land was empty and lifeless - the first forms chose the oceans as their habitat. But gradually the earth's surface also began to be mastered by various creatures. The first plants on Earth are also the earliest inhabitants of land. What were the ancestors of modern representatives of the flora?

Photo: pikabu.ru

So, imagine the Earth 420 million years ago, in an era called the Silurian period. This date was not chosen by chance - it was at this time, scientists believe, that plants finally began to conquer the land.

For the first time, the remains of cooksonia were discovered in Scotland (the first representative of the terrestrial flora was named after Isabella Cookson, a famous paleobotanist). But scientists suggest that it was distributed throughout the globe.

It was not so easy to get out of the waters of the oceans and start developing the land. To do this, the plants had to literally rebuild the entire body: to acquire a shell resembling a cuticle that prevents drying out, and to acquire special stomata, with which it was possible to regulate evaporation and absorb substances necessary for life.

Cooksonia, which is a thin green stems, not exceeding five centimeters in height, was considered one of the most developed plants. But the atmosphere of the Earth and its inhabitants were rapidly changing, and the most ancient representative of the flora was losing ground more and more. At the moment, the plant is considered extinct.

Photo: stihi.ru

The remains of the nematothallus do not even remotely resemble plants - they look more like shapeless black spots. But despite the strange appearance, in terms of development, this plant has gone far ahead of its comrades in its habitat. The fact is that the cuticle of the nematothallus is already more similar to the parts of existing plants - it consisted of formations resembling modern cells, which is why it was called pseudocellular. It should be noted that in other species this shell looked just like a continuous film.

Nematothallus gave a lot of food for thought scientific world. Some scientists attributed it to red algae, others were inclined to believe that they had a lichen in front of them. And until now, the mystery of this ancient organism has not been solved.

Photo: amgpgu.ru

Rinia and almost all other ancient plants with a vascular structure are classified as rhinophytes. Representatives of this group have not grown on Earth for a long time. However, this fact does not at all prevent scientists from studying these living creatures that once dominated land - a lot of fossils found in many parts of the world make it possible to judge how appearance, and about the structure of similar plants.

Rhyniophytes have several important features, which allow us to assert: these living beings are completely different from their descendants. First, their stem was not covered with soft bark: scaly processes grew on it. Secondly, rhinophytes reproduced exclusively with the help of spores, which were formed in special organs called sporangia.

But the most important difference is that these plants did not have a root system as such. Instead, there were root formations covered with "hairs" - rhizoids, with the help of which rhinia absorbed water and substances necessary for life.

Photo: bio.1september.ru

This plant was recently considered a representative of the animal world. The fact is that its remains - small, rounded in shape - were originally mistaken for eggs of frogs or fish, algae, or even eggs of long-extinct crustacean scorpions. The spores of the parka, found in 1891, put an end to the misconceptions.

The plant lived on our planet about 400 million years ago. This time refers to the beginning of the Devonian period.

Photo: bio.1september.ru

The remains of pahiteki, as well as the fossils found parka, are balls small size(the largest one found has a diameter of 7 millimeters). Quite little is known about this plant: scientists managed to establish only the fact that it consisted of tubules located radially and converging in the center where the nucleus was located.

This plant is a dead end branch of the development of flora, in fact, like parks and rhinia. It was not possible to establish for certain what was the impetus for their emergence, and why they died out. The only reason, according to scientists, is the development of vascular plants, which simply replaced their less developed relatives.

The plants that got out on land chose a completely different path of development. It was thanks to them that the animal world was born and, accordingly, a reasonable form of life appeared - man. And who knows what our planet would look like now if the rhinii, parkas and cooksonia had not decided to explore the land? ..

That's all we have. We are very glad that you have looked at our site and spent some time enriching yourself with new knowledge.

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Plants are an important and ancient link in the history of our planet. The first plants witnessed significant climate change, they existed long before the appearance of man himself.
Plants are unique, they carry many functions to support life on Earth:

• accumulate huge reserves of valuable organic matter and chemical energy,
• release oxygen, protect against ultraviolet radiation,
• reduce the amount of carbon dioxide
• take part in the cycle of minerals and organic matter,
• plants directly affect climate and temperature,
• vegetation is involved in the formation of soils, prevents erosion,
• support the water regime.

Blue-green algae are the primary source of oxygen on our planet. These are bacteria, which, along with higher plants, have the ability to photosynthesis, they outlived all their ancestors and existed when there was no one else. They are found everywhere: in fresh water, in salty seas, on land, and feel great even in the most extreme conditions.

The most ancient deciduous plants on earth are recognized as Selaginella, the history of which has about a hundred million years. "Carpet fern" reproduces by spores, it is the only representative of club mosses, an ancient group of plants common before our era. In height, these plants - up to 10 cm, outwardly resemble ferns and mosses. They are widely used in home floriculture for their interesting appearance.

Ginkgo is a relic plant, many call it a "living fossil". This ancient species Gymnosperms have been preserved since the Ice Age. In their natural habitat, these trees grow up to 40 meters with a trunk diameter of up to 4 m. The life period is about 2000 thousand years. This plant has unique healing properties: the composition of the leaves includes many biologically active compounds (acids, vitamins, oils, minerals). They actively influence the human body, have a therapeutic effect.

The oldest living plant on Earth is the "old tikko" tree. According to scientists, the age of the tree is more than 9550 thousand years. "Old Tikko" is a common spruce, it has the status of the oldest nowadays existing tree. Spruce grows in the province of Dalarna in the national park Fulufjellet, Sweden. Scientists have determined that the tree was preserved through the process of "cloning", with an old root system, the trunk of the tree is only 600 years old.

Another ancient spruce grows in Herjedalen, Sweden and is called "Old Rasmus". The age of this plant is about 9500 thousand years.

The oldest non-coniferous tree is considered to be the “Patriarch of the Forest”, which grows in Brazil. Its approximate age is about 3000 thousand years. Now it is under protection, because. grows in the zone of active felling.

The oldest ficus grows in Sri Lanka. Jaya Sri Maha Bodhi was planted in 288 B.C. For all Buddhists of the world, this tree is sacred and is a place of pilgrimage, because. it is believed that the tree was grown from a shoot planted by the Buddha.

The oldest olive "tree of Cormac" grows on the island of Sardinia in Italy. This plant is about 3000 years old.

The plant, which was listed in the Guinness book for a trunk circumference of more than 60 meters, "Hundred Horse Chestnut", which is 3000 years old. It grows in Sicily.

Fitzroy cypress is an ancient representative of the genus Fitzroy, whose age is 2600 thousand years. Previously, this species was distributed in South America and Patagonia. The currently existing representative of the genus grows on the territory of the Argentine National Park. A tree with a height of 55 meters and a trunk diameter of 2.5 meters. Its age is 2600 thousand years.

The tallest plant is the "General Sherman" tree, 85 meters tall, living in California National Park. Its age is more than 2500 years, and its mass is about 2,000 thousand tons.

Unfortunately, many ancient plants have not survived to the present, many did not survive due to natural causes. Some of them were cut down for safety reasons, many were poached.
But thanks to the surviving centenarians, we can learn the history of the development of the Earth, trace how the conditions of life on our planet have changed.