Russia is also a country of dense forests. Taiga has become a household name, and after all there is still Siberia and not only. We have a huge number of trees, including rare and valuable species, but today we will talk about those that "live" for a very long time and this applies not only to the remote corners of our country, but also to Moscow.
Absolutely all the "heroes" of our top are able to survive several generations of people and they all grow in our country. How old are these ancient long-living plants? We present you the top 10 oldest tree species in Russia.
List
- 10. Rough elm, up to 300 years
- 9. Small-leaved linden, up to 500 years
- 8. Forest beech, up to 500 years old
- 7. Siberian cedar pine, up to 500 years old
- 6. Prickly spruce, up to 600 years
- 5. Larch, up to 900 years
- 4. Common juniper, up to 1,000 years
- 3. European cedar pine, up to 1,000 years
- 2. English oak, up to 1,500 years
- 1. Yew berry, up to 4,000 years
10. Rough elm, up to 300 years
Ulmus glabracommonly called rough elm, is a large, widespread deciduous tree that grows up to 30-40 meters wide-round crown.
Originally from the UK, this elm came to Siberia, from where it spread throughout Russia. It was once widely grown as a shady tree for large lawns and parks, but is no longer used due to its predisposition to Dutch elm disease.
Slight small reddish-green flowers appear in the spring before foliage. Flowers give way to a single-seeded plate-like samara (each tiny seed is surrounded by a flattened round paper wing).
Seeds ripen in April-May, when the leaves reach full size. Broad oblong-obovate to elliptical, rough, dark green leaves have pointed tips, double-breasted edges and asymmetric bases. Leaves usually become dull yellow in the fall.
The oldest tree was planted in 1861, and is located in the Missouri Botanical Garden near Henry Shaw's house.
9. Small-leaved linden, up to 500 years
Small-leaved linden These are fragrant pale yellow flowers in late spring, as well as small nuts with attached leafy wings and oval, shiny dark green leaves with pointed tips, serrated edges and heart-shaped bases.
This is a medium-large deciduous tree, usually growing up to 30-40 meters tall. Fragrant, creamy yellow flowers in drooping brushes appear in June. When the tree is in full bloom, the bees are often in such large numbers that you can hear a buzzing at a distance of several meters from the tree.
Flowers give way to nuts that attach to narrow wings. Nuts ripen in late summer. Color drop from inconspicuous pale green to pale yellow.
8. Forest beech, up to 500 years old
Fagus sylvaticacommonly called European or forest beech, is a large deciduous tree, usually growing up to 15-20 meters tall with a dense, vertically oval to round-crown crown. It is native to forests in central and southern Europe.
European colonists brought this tree to Russia in the mid-1700s, and since then it has become a popular decorative shady tree.
The European beech is first of all different from the similar American beech (Fagus grandifolia) in smaller size, darker gray bark and shorter leaves, which have wavy, for the most part, pubescent edges
7. Siberian cedar pine, up to 500 years old
Massive, powerful, strong, truly Russian tree, inspiring respect for its size. An instance of 48 meters high and 3.5 meters in girth is growing on the Cedar Pass in Altai. The oldestSiberian cedar pine It is located on the Tarvagatai pass in Mongolia, and its age is 629 years.
6. Prickly spruce, up to 600 years
Picea pungenscommonly called prickly spruce (also blue spruce), is a narrow pyramidal coniferous tree from medium to large size with horizontal branching to the ground. As a rule, when grown, it reaches 10-20 meters in height, but can reach 30 or more in vivo.
Rigid, bristly, quadrangular, green, blue-green or silver-blue needles are directed outward from the branches in all directions. Cylindrical light brown cones have flexible scales. From a horticultural point of view, trees with blue or silver-blue needles are generally more desirable than trees with green needles.
5. Larch, up to 900 years
Larch trees are conifers of the genus Larix, a family of pine. Growing from 20 to 45 m in height, they are native to most of the colder temperate northern hemisphere, in the lowlands in the north and high in the mountains in the south. Larches are one of the dominant plants in the boreal forests of Siberia, where there are really many of them.
4. Common juniper, up to 1,000 years
It is the most common conifer in the world, originally from temperate Eurasia and North America north of Mexico. Shrubs or small dioecious trees, up to 4 m (if the trees are up to 10 m), multi-stemmed, lowered or rarely vertical. Bark juniper brown fibrous, exfoliating in the form of thin strips. Branches stretching or ascending, twigs straight, triple.
3. European cedar pine, up to 1,000 years
Common pinecommonly called European, native to the mountainous regions of central Europe from the Alps to the Carpathians. This is a slow-growing medium-sized pine tree with a narrow pyramidal shape in youth, gradually becoming rounded and more open as it grows older.
As a rule, when grown, it reaches 10-15 meters in height, but in the natural habitat it grows to 30+ meters. Soft needles from dark green to blue-green with white tooth lines appear in packs of five each.
Bumps never open. The seeds of the cone are edible. Pine nuts used in food in Europe mainly come from pine nuts, namely from this species.
2. English oak, up to 1,500 years
Quercus roburcommonly called leafy oak, is native to mixed forest areas from the British Isles to the Caucasus. This is a large, majestic, deciduous oak of a group of white oaks, which usually grows up to 12-20 meters (but maybe much more) tall with a wide rounded crown.
Trunks are usually short, with ribbed and furrowed dark gray or black bark. Minor monoecious yellowish-green flowers in individual male and female earrings appear in spring as leaves appear. Fruits - oval acorns on 1-3 long stems.
1. Yew berry, up to 4,000 years
Taxus baccata or berry yew It is a long-lived, evergreen, conical tree that grows in Europe, Southwest Asia and North Africa. Usually grows up to 12-20 meters. Older trees usually form thick trunks with scaly reddish-brown bark. The shiny dark green foliage with two needles and two rows is attractive all year round.
Young shoots turn light green. Despite the fact that they are classified as conifers, female yews (dioecious plants) do not produce cones, but instead produce red, decoratively attractive, berry-like fruits, each of which has one seed, almost completely surrounded by fleshy red aryl.
Birds feed on berry-like fruits and help spread plants elsewhere. This plant is poisonous, therefore, appetizing-looking fruits should never be eaten: it will end badly.