“The flower that blooms in adversity is the rarest and most beautiful of all.”― Walt Disney Company, Mulan
The Bristlecone Pine is an example of this "blooming in adversity." Earth's oldest living inhabitant "Methuselah" at 4,767 years, has lived more than a millennium longer than any other tree. Discover how these trees were found and where they live. Learn of their unique strategies for survival. The focus will be on the White-Inyo mountain range of California. Nothing else can grow in this Northern face of the White mountains with acidic soil and artic Northern winds and snow at 7,000 to 9,000 ft. high - suggest you google... I have been there and been awesomely amazed!
"Ancient Sentinels"
"The capacity of these trees to live so fantastically long may, when we come to understand it fully, perhaps serve as a guidepost on
the road to the understanding of longevity in general."
-Edmund Schulman
"Colossal Bristlecone Ghost"
Bristlecones have the ability to remain standing for centuries after death. Invasions from bacteria, fungus or insects that prey upon most plants, are unknown to the bristlecone due to their dense, highly resinous wood. The dry air common in the subalpine region can kill by desiccation, but also helps preserve the trees from rotting. When the tree eventually falls it is because the supporting roots finally decay or are undermined by erosion. This ghost is located on the northwestern limit of Schulman Grove and overlooks the snow covered Sierra Nevada to the west.
"Timberline Traveler"
"It has been said that trees are imperfect men, and seem to bemoan their imprisonment rooted in the ground. But they never seem so to me. I never saw a discontented tree. They grip the ground as though they liked it, and though fast rooted they travel about as far as we do. They go wandering forth in all directions with every wind, going and coming like ourselves, traveling with us around the sun two million miles a day, and through space heaven knows how fast and far!"
-John Muir
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