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Trip
Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest
The Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is a protected area high in the White Mountains in Inyo County in eastern California. The Great Basin bristlecone pine (Pinus longaeva) trees grow between 9,800 and 11,000 feet (3,000–3,400 m) above sea level, in xeric alpine conditions, protected within the Inyo National Forest. Limber pine (Pinus flexilis) also grow in the forest.
The Methuselah Grove in the Ancient Bristlecone Pine Forest is the location of the "Methuselah", a Great Basin bristlecone pine that is 4,851 years old. It is considered to be the world's oldest known and confirmed living non-clonal organism. It was temporarily superseded by the discovery in 2013 of another bristlecone pine in the same area with an age of 5,069 years (germination in 3051 BC), however in May 2017, Dr. Peter Brown removed this tree from his database of old trees because the core sample cannot be found.[5] "Methuselah" is not marked in the forest, to ensure added protection from vandals.[6]
