I know! This was a really tricky question. The Panke Baobab was 2419 years old when it died in 2011 as the oldest, non-clonal flowering plant. The Sacred Fig is only slightly younger at 2311 years old - but it is the oldest human planted tree we know of! These two are only the 11th and 12th confirmed oldest non-clonal trees, we have verified ages for a handful of Giant Sequoia, bristlecone pines and cypres trees that are over 4900 years old.
We estimate that some trees are even older, among them 3 olive trees in Lebanon that are assumed to be over 6,000 years old!
I know! This was a really tricky question. The Panke Baobab was 2419 years old when it died in 2011 as the oldest, non-clonal flowering plant. The Sacred Fig is only slightly younger at 2311 years old - but it is the oldest human planted tree we know of! These two are only the 11th and 12th confirmed oldest non-clonal trees, we have verified ages for a handful of Giant Sequoia, bristlecone pines and cypres trees that are over 4900 years old. We estimate that some trees are even older, among them 3 olive trees in Lebanon that are assumed to be over 6,000 years old!