Bristlecone Pine

 

Bristlecone pine trees is a small group of pine trees (Family Pinaceae, genus Pinus, subsection Balfourianae), which is estimated to reach a far greater age than any other single living organism known, up to nearly 5,000 years.

There are three closely related species bristlecone pine:

      * Rocky Mountains Bristlecone Pine Pinus aristata in Colorado, New Mexico and Arizona
      * Great Basin Bristlecone Pine Pinus longaeva in Utah, Nevada and eastern California
      * Pine foxtail pine in California balfouriana

Bristlecone pines grow in the garden isolated at and just below the tree line. Due to cold temperatures, dry soil, high winds, and short growing season, trees grow very slowly. This wood is very dense and sticky, and thus resistant to invasion by insects, fungi, and other potential pests. As trees age, many vascular cambium layer that can die. In very old specimens, often only a narrow strip of living tissue connects the roots of several branches of life.

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