Europe’s Oldest Tree Has Been Identified And It’s 1,000 Years Old

Here’s something worth barking about… Europe’s oldest tree has been identified.

A Bosnian Pine tree nicknamed Adonis which grows in northern Greece has been named as the oldest tree in the continent - and its oldest living organism.

It is thought that Adonis, named after the Greek god of youthful beauty, is 1,075 years old.

Experts say it was planted in 941AD, just over 100 years before the Battle of Hastings.

The tree was identified by scientists at Stockholm University and the University of Mainz.

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Researchers dated the tree using dendrochronology, the scientific analysis of tree rings.

“It is quite remarkable that this large, complex and impressive organism has survived so long in such an inhospitable environment, in a land that has been civilised for over 3,000 years,” said Swedish dendrochronologist Paul J. Krusic.

“Many years ago I read a thesis about this very interesting forest in Greece.

“In our research, we try to build long chronologies to construct climate histories, so finding living trees of old age is one of our motivations.”

“I am impressed, in the context of western civilisation, all the human history that has surrounded this tree; all the empires, the Byzantine, the Ottoman, all the people living in this region.

“So many things could have led to its demise.

“Fortunately, this forest has been basically untouched for over a thousand years.”

(Picture: Oliver Konter/University of Mainz/SWNS)