Comments on: The Oldest Living Tree is a Bush http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/ . . . exploring the world around us Fri, 30 Jul 2010 20:37:17 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.0.5 by: Paul Brill http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-45574 Sat, 27 Feb 2010 21:52:15 +0000 http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-45574 One thing we "desert rats" learn quickly is the distinctive aroma given off by the creosote bush after one of our infrequent rains...Paul in Desert Hot Springs, California One thing we “desert rats” learn quickly is the distinctive aroma given off by the creosote bush after one of our infrequent rains…Paul in Desert Hot Springs, California

]]> by: Martin M. Meiss http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-26532 Fri, 21 Nov 2008 13:55:38 +0000 http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-26532 Want another candidate for oldest living plants? Consider the Aroid vines growing in the tropical rain forest, for instance the fleshy vines of the genera Anthurium and Syngonium in Central America. These vines sprout on the forest floor, scramble around until they find a tree, and then climb the tree. In the canopy they branch and spread to other trees. Eventually the old part of the vine dies, but the growing tips keep going. When the dying-off part reaches a branching point, that leaves the branches independently cruising around the forest like snakes. When a tree falls and drags its vines down with it, they scramble along the forest floor until they find another tree, and up they go. One problem: For purpose of a longevity contest, once the vine has died away at the point of germination, there is no way of knowing how old the remaining part is. There could be vines out there that have been crawling around as long as the forest has existed, and no one knows how long that is, but it must reach well back into the Pleistocene. They could have started down in South America and moved northward as forest colonized the emerging land bridge that is Central America. Even genetic analysis of widely separated individuals might not tell if they are part of the same wandering clone, because they could be accumulating somatic mutations with time. I guess we'll never know if there are really vines a million years old, but isn't it cool to think about? Want another candidate for oldest living plants? Consider the Aroid vines growing in the tropical rain forest, for instance the fleshy vines of the genera Anthurium and Syngonium in Central America. These vines sprout on the forest floor, scramble around until they find a tree, and then climb the tree. In the canopy they branch and spread to other trees. Eventually the old part of the vine dies, but the growing tips keep going. When the dying-off part reaches a branching point, that leaves the branches independently cruising around the forest like snakes. When a tree falls and drags its vines down with it, they scramble along the forest floor until they find another tree, and up they go.
One problem: For purpose of a longevity contest, once the vine has died away at the point of germination, there is no way of knowing how old the remaining part is. There could be vines out there that have been crawling around as long as the forest has existed, and no one knows how long that is, but it must reach well back into the Pleistocene. They could have started down in South America and moved northward as forest colonized the emerging land bridge that is Central America. Even genetic analysis of widely separated individuals might not tell if they are part of the same wandering clone, because they could be accumulating somatic mutations with time. I guess we’ll never know if there are really vines a million years old, but isn’t it cool to think about?

]]> by: Lowell and Kaye Christie http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-16210 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 23:53:51 +0000 http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-16210 Hi Carol, The creosote grows in all four of the American deserts, so it would certainly be out of range in Florida. However there are so many exotics growing there, it wouldn't surprise me if creosote could survive. My guess is that you could keep it growing in a pot - just don't give it too much water. Lowell Hi Carol,

The creosote grows in all four of the American deserts, so it would certainly be out of range in Florida. However there are so many exotics growing there, it wouldn’t surprise me if creosote could survive. My guess is that you could keep it growing in a pot - just don’t give it too much water.

Lowell

]]> by: carol coughlin http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-16192 Sun, 23 Mar 2008 14:40:45 +0000 http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-16192 is it possible to grow creosote in a pot in florida or will the humidity do it under? is it possible to grow creosote in a pot in florida or will the humidity do it under?

]]> by: Judy Mason http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-7125 Tue, 04 Sep 2007 05:52:28 +0000 http://www.ourwindowonnature.com/2007/05/06/the-oldest-living-tree-is-a-bush/#comment-7125 Very interesting article, I would have thought the oldest tree was our California redwood prior to this information. I love your web site and plan to come back and read more. Very interesting article, I would have thought the oldest tree was our California redwood prior to this information. I love your web site and plan to come back and read more.

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