The world's most ancient organisms

Research by Rachel Sussman

This Yareta plant just looks like a few boulders covered in moss, but it is in fact a shrub, with incredibly dense branches and clusters of green leaves at their ends. The big surprise is that this particular individual is over 3,000 years old, as are many Yareta plants, and only grows one millimeter per year.

Rachel Sussman has spent the past 5 years travelling the world researching the oldest living organisms that are 2,000 years old, or older. Her works began as both an artistic and scientific curiosity into global species longevity, an untouched area of research. Her inspiration came from the Jomon Sugi tree, a 2,180 year old tree sheencountered while visiting Japan. It's artistic and scientific beauty sparked an interest in organisms which are older than the year zero.

The oldest tortious is a mere 175 years old. A recently discovered giant clam was 405 years old (until it died in the lab), but these are just adolescents compared with the ancient plants and coral found on earth:

Brain Coral - This particular coral was found 18 meters down of the cost of the United States. It is 2,000 years old and was very lucky to escape the recent oil leak.

Armillaria (The humongous fungus) - This a predatory fungus thats hunts trees and is one of the worlds largest organisms. It kills trees in a circular pattern, slowly strangling a tree and cutting of the flow of water and nutrients. This one was dated as 2,400 years old.

The underground Forest - This is actually a tree, but highly adapted to the dry, bush like conditions that so often catch fire spontaneously. What you see is only the very top of the tree poking up through the soil, the rest is submerged below. This way only the leaves become singed by fire. This tree is 13,800 years old.

Pando Tree, clonal colony Quacking Aspen (The trembling giant) - The picture suggests a forest but genetic tests have shown this to be a single organism (hence a clonal colony). Each stem has grown from one giant root system which is 80,000 years old!

So, whats the oldest known living thing on earth? The prize goes to Siberian

Actinobacteria, a bacterium that lives within permafrost (soil below freezing). One sample is estimated to be

between 400,000 and 600,000 years old. Actinobacteria can perform DNA repair at, or below, freezing temperatures making them remarkable organisms, but also incredible vulnerable to rising global temperatures.

Ancient organisms are a living record of the past and wake up call for action in the future. They have survived for millennia in deserts, permafrost, and tops of mountains. Survived every natural disaster and human interference, but for how much longer? The need to preserve these wonders is undeniable.

For more information visit Rachel's web site