Prometheus (tree)

Prometheus (recorded as WPN-114) was the <a href="/facts/List_of_long-living_organisms/DQatWWtE">oldest</a> known non-<a href="/facts/Clonal_colony/SDblHCVk">clonal</a> organism, a <a href="/facts/Pinus_longaeva/Rh9WCVjj">Great Basin bristlecone pine</a> (Pinus longaeva) tree growing near the <a href="/facts/Tree_line/ANIlSVby">tree line</a> on <a href="/facts/Wheeler_Peak_(Nevada)/vMbFMto6">Wheeler Peak</a> in eastern Nevada, United States. The tree, which was at least 4,862 years old and possibly more than 5,000, was cut down in 1964 by a graduate student and <a href="/facts/United_States_Forest_Service/NRzYYHhc">United States Forest Service</a> personnel for research purposes. Those involved did not know of its world-record age before the cutting, and the circumstances and decision-making process remain controversial.
The tree's name refers to the mythological figure <a href="/facts/Prometheus/I5gmrJXn">Prometheus</a>, who stole fire from the gods and gave it to man. The designation WPN-114 was given by the original researcher, <a href="/facts/Donald_Rusk_Currey/Pu0R2Twx">Donald Rusk Currey</a>, and means it was the 114th tree he sampled in his research in Nevada's <a href="/facts/White_Pine_County,_Nevada/pRqCL2YD">White Pine County</a>.

Prometheus (tree) open-in-new

Prometheus (tree)