The spruce that has been here ages

In Sweden, there is a spruce called Old Tjikko. It looks like a normal tree, which is rude, because its story is anything but normal.

Research on Scandinavian spruces found fossil remains from this clonal system dated to about 9,500 years ago. That is a very long time for one bit of forest to be hanging about.

The living tree you can see now is part of a much older clonal system. So the visible bit is not the whole saga, just the bit doing the standing.

Brain like this. A tree can be older than most of the drama humans think is important, and still just be there, quietly being a tree.

Tiny challenge: next time you see a tree, give it one second of proper respect. Still counts.