No doubt the North Coast has some old trees; some have even been around a century or two. But the latest candidate for Oldest Tree in the World is a Patagonian cypress named Alerce Milenario, or Gran Abuelo, the “great-grandfather,” at Alerce Costero National Park in Chile, SmithsonianMag.com reports.

That’s the belief of Jonathan Barichivich, a Chilean environmental scientist, anyway, who estimates the tree is 5,484 years old, which makes it more ancient than the current contender, Methuselah, a 4,853-year-old bristlecone pine in California.

He couldn’t figure out the age the normal way, since a regular core sampler can’t penetrate to the center of the 13-foot wide tree. So instead, he used a partial core sample of 2,400 growth rings, and calculated the age and growth from there using statistics.

With this new age estimation, he hopes the tree will now get federal protection, which would stop people from trampling on and damaging its roots. “To me, this tree is like a family member,” Barichivich said.

By the way, he has one other estimate: Only 28% of the tree is still alive. (Photo: El Mercurio (archivo))