What And Where Is Kongeegen (the King Oak)?

The Kongeegen is a renowned old oak tree in Denmark. It is sometimes referred to as the King Oak. The tree grows in Jægerspris Nordskov in the island of Sjælland. In 1965 researchers estimated the tree to be between 1,450-1,900 years, as at 2018 it is estimated to be 1503-2043 years. The tree is thought to be the oldest in Denmark and northern Europe. Researchers suggest that the site the tree stands was a meadow to account for the low branching and short trunk. It is surrounded by taller trees that are shading. The King Oak is showing signs of dying as the trunk rots away.

Oldest Trees In The World

In 2013, the Tree-Ring Research Group announced that they had discovered the world’s oldest tree in the White Mountains, California. The Great Basin bristlecone pine is currently 5,067 years. Until then Methuselah, also a Great Basin bristlecone pine in the same mountain was the oldest. Methuselah is currently 4,849 years old. In 1964 Prometheus; a Great Basin bristlecone pine in Wheeler Peak, Nevada was cut down by a graduate student for research purpose. After analyzing the tree, the student and other researchers concluded that it was at least 4,844 years. Gran Abuelo; a Patagonian cypress in Alerce Costero National Park, Los Ríos, Chile is the oldest tree in South America. The tree is 3,647 years old.

Clonal Trees

Clonal trees make up some of the oldest individual trees. The trees consist of several identical trees connected by a single root system. The Pado clonal colony in Fishlake National Forest, Utah, consists of 40,000 quaking aspen. The colony is 80,000 years old. In 2008, the oldest clonal tree was discovered in Sweden. The trunk of the Norway spruce was estimated to be 9,550 years. Th trunk held four generation of spruce with similar genetic components. Spruce trees are known to multiply when the roots of another tree penetrate the trunk of another tree and produce shoots with the exact genetic makeup.