My Favorite Tree ( not FF )

[JohnScott]

Didn't want to steal Paul's thread on keyboards, which reminded me of the Bristlecone Pine Tree. It is my favorite.

Bristlecone Pines generally grow at elevations over 10,000'. They are the oldest living full grown trees on the planet, living up to 6,000 years. ( Recently, a type of spruce trees was determined to be older than that, but the spruces were more like small shrubs than full blown trees. ) They are the only known trees to have "dead and alive" parts existing together, intertwined.

I've had the good fortune to see several great Bristlecone Pine forrests. At Great Basin National Park in eastern Nevada on the way to the summit of Wheeler Peak ( 13,063' ). Around the summit of Telescope Peak ( 11,000' plus ) on the west side of Death Valley in SE California. On the way to summit White Mountain Peak ( 14,236' ) in the White Mountains on the east side of Owens Valley, north of Bishop, CA.

The thing that makes them my favorite is this - the more harsh the conditions in which the Bristlecone Pine grows, the tougher it is and the longer it lives. The higher, and colder, and windier it is, the healthier the tree is and the longer it will live. The lower, and warmer, and calmer the growing conditions, the weaker and more short-lived the tree will be.

Besides that, they are, to my taste, absolutely beautiful.

Do you have a favorite ??

John