A ginkgo tree can live for more than a thousand years, and scientists have recently worked out the hidden reason for its long life. Here are some of the world's oldest trees.

The tree is called Ginkgo biloba and is also known as the maidenhair tree. It is found in China and can live for more than 1,000 years.

Tests by scientists show that the tree can produce certain chemicals that protect it from disease-causing germs and from drought. More interesting still, its resistance to disease grows stronger as the tree gets older.

The Great Basin bristlecone pine is thought to be the oldest of all the plants and animals still living on Earth. The most famous bristlecone pine in the world is named Methuselah, and it is believed to be more than 4,800 years old.

A remarkable feature of its long life is that it can survive in extremely harsh and hostile conditions, and these trees are born in such conditions too. They grow on the high mountains of California, Nevada and Utah in the United States.

They grow slowly and stand in large numbers in one place. This lets them protect themselves from rot, from many kinds of insects and from fungi.

Cryptomeria trees are also known as Japanese cedar. They are found in some parts of China and in southern Japan.

Source: BBC Bangla. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.