Old Tjikko

Old Tjikko is a remarkable Norway spruce located in Sweden. It grows on Fulufjället Mountain in the Dalarna province. While it once gained fame as the world's oldest tree, it is actually a clonal tree. This means it is not one single, ancient trunk. Instead, it is a collection of genetically identical parts. The plant survives by regenerating new trunks and roots over many millennia. It is recognized as the oldest living Picea abies. It is also the fourth-oldest known clonal tree in existence.

The tree stays alive through a process called vegetative cloning. In this process, the main trunk may eventually die. However, the old root system remains alive under the ground. This living root system can then sprout a brand new trunk. The visible trunk might only live for about six hundred years. Another way the tree survives is through a process called layering. This occurs when heavy winter snow pushes low branches to the ground. When these branches make contact with the earth, they sprout new roots. This allows the plant to expand and continue its life cycle.

For a very long time, Old Tjikko had a specific shape. It grew in a stunted shrub formation known as a krummholz formation. This shape is caused by the harsh extremes of its environment. However, the tree changed during the warming of the 20th century. It began to sprout into a normal tree formation. This growth spurt was noticed by two researchers. Leif Kullman is a professor of physical geography at Umeå University. Lisa Öberg is a tree scientist with a doctorate in biology and ecology. They named the tree after their late dog, Tjikko.

Scientists had to use special methods to determine the tree's true age. They could not use dendrochronology, which is the study of tree rings. This method does not work for clonal trees because the trunks are too young. Instead, they used carbon-14 dating on the root system. This method measures specific material collected from under the tree. The results showed roots dating back to several different times. These include 375, 5,660, 9,000, and 9,550 years before 2008. Because of this, the tree likely sprouted around 7550 B.C.

To understand how old this is, we can look at human history. The invention of writing began recorded history around 4000 B.C. Old Tjikko was already growing long before that happened. Its age is close to the maximum possible for this specific area. This is because the Fenno-Scandian ice sheet only receded ten millennia ago. This ice sheet previously covered the Fulufjället Mountain. Researchers have even found a cluster of twenty other spruce trees nearby. All of these trees are also over eight millennia old.

Old Tjikko is not the only plant that uses these survival methods. Other trees, like coast redwoods and western red cedars, also reproduce by layering. Today, the tree is also part of a modern art and science project. In July 2024, an art studio called Goldin+Senneby began a new installation. They worked on a project at a hospital campus in Malmö, Sweden. They used small twigs cut from the top branches of Old Tjikko. They then grafted these twigs onto the stems of other spruce trees. This process creates new saplings with DNA identical to Old Tjikko.

Because the tree is so unique, people want to protect it. Nature conservancy authorities considered putting a fence around the tree. They wanted to protect it from trophy hunters or vandals. The tree remains a significant example of how life persists in harsh places. It shows how a single genetic individual can endure for thousands of years. Even as the visible parts change, the ancient root system continues to thrive.