The oldest individual trees are conifers—but they’re not the famous sequoias. Some of those exceed 3,000 years. But bristlecone pines are centuries, even millennia, older.

They’ve adapted to small, high and dry ranges in eastern California, Nevada and Utah, just below the tree line.

The oldest trees live in the harshest conditions, where few other plants can grow, so they’re less likely to be exposed to fire, insects or disease. And the oldest of them all was a tree named Methuselah.

Bristlecone pines have unusual growing habits. They are extremely slow, adding only one inch of height per century.

Their roots support only the part of the tree directly above them, so if some roots die only that part of the tree dies.

The bristlecone then twists, very slowly, to face the dead part of the tree toward the wind, to take the brunt of the elements and protect the living part of the tree.

The large areas of dead wood on the trees allowed scientists to sample the rings of Methuselah and found it was almost 4,800 years old. Centuries older than the pyramids of Egypt.

Recently, an even more ancient bristlecone was found—at more than 5,000 years old.

If a seed from one of these old-timers started growing today, we’d be ringing in the year 7023 before it’s as old.