Bristlecone pine trees, gnarled and weather-worn, are considered to be one of the oldest living forms on Earth. There are three species, and pinus longaeva is believed to be the oldest. Many started growing as long as 4,000 to 5,000 years ago—some before the great pyramids of Egypt were built, others while the Israelites were crossing the desert. While some bristlecone pines are 100 feet or more tall, many are short and stubby, and each has a beauty of its own.
How do they survive in the mountains of California and Mexico at heights of 10,000 feet or more, where summers are extremely hot and winter storms bring sub-zero temperatures and fierce windstorms? A strong root system that clings to patches of soil in the hard, rocky areas is part of the answer. Their tough, waxy needles also help them survive.
Where bristlecones grow, there is not much rainfall, but the Creator supplies some of their moisture requirements another way. At that high altitude, summer fog and clouds blow over them. Enough tiny droplets of water collect on the needles to form drops that fall to the ground, providing moisture for the roots. The needles also prevent snow from piling up and breaking the branches. When the load gets too heavy, the needles bend down and the snow slides off. As this snow melts, it supplies further moisture to the roots. The needles also contain a protective poison that keeps birds and animals away from them.
Older trees, and some younger ones, have survived lightning and severe storms that have killed sections of the trees, leaving partly dead trunks and branches alongside the living, green ones. The dead parts actually shelter the living parts. Over the years these dead parts have become polished, gnarled and twisted by severe weather, resulting in natural beauty. A visitor observing one of these ancient trees cannot help but wonder at their long survival under such harsh conditions.
Bristlecones begin life as a seed dropped from a cone, perhaps blown from the parent tree and taking root in a sheltered bit of soil some distance away. Their rate of growth is so slow that the smallest tree growing now is very likely many times older than the person looking at it. Young trees are usually straight and upright, but wind, rain and snow have made many of them bent and weathered while still small.
When we consider the beauty and majesty of these trees that God has created, we can understand the meaning of the Bible verse that says, “Let them praise the name of the Lord: for He commanded, and they were created . . . . Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars [related to the bristlecone pines]” (Psalm 148:5,95Let them praise the name of the Lord: for he commanded, and they were created. (Psalm 148:5)
9Mountains, and all hills; fruitful trees, and all cedars: (Psalm 148:9)).
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