Pinus longaeva | |
---|---|
A specimen in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest, Sierra Nevada Mountains, California | |
Scientific classification | |
Kingdom: | Plantae |
Clade: | Tracheophytes |
Clade: | Gymnospermae |
Division: | Pinophyta |
Class: | Pinopsida |
Order: | Pinales |
Family: | Pinaceae |
Genus: | Pinus |
Subgenus: | P. subg. Strobus |
Section: | P. sect. Parrya |
Subsection: | P. subsect. Balfourianae |
Species: | P. longaeva
|
Binomial name | |
Pinus longaeva | |
Pinus longaeva (commonly referred to as the Great Basin bristlecone pine, intermountain bristlecone pine, or western bristlecone pine)[2] is a long-living species of bristlecone pine tree found in the higher mountains of California, Nevada, and Utah.[3] Methuselah is a bristlecone pine that is 4,856 years old and has been credited as the oldest known living non-clonal organism on Earth.[4] To protect it, the exact location of this tree is kept secret. In 1987, the bristlecone pine was designated one of Nevada's state trees.[5]