The living things featured in this book stagger the mind. How ancient they are, yet still living and growing- albeit very slowly– the map lichen in Greenland only grows one centimeter each hundred years, for example. It’s 3,000 years old. That’s in the middle range, for what’s in these pages- ranging from the baobabs, welwitschia and brain corals that are 2,000 years old to a sea grass meadow in Spain that’s 100,000 years old and the Siberian actinobacteria colony which is estimated to be 400,000 – 600,000 years old! And here I thought the age of giant sequoias or olive trees was mind-boggling, but now I’m in awe of moss, creosote bushes, and a unassuming-looking box huckleberry that’s at least 8,000 years old (maybe up to 13,000 years). The bristlecone pines look suitably weathered, the huge banyan figs and Japanese cedar are impressive, but I was most wowed by the unexpected, plants I’d never heard of before that are so curious- such as Parinari capensis or the underground forest- a plant whose mass is mainly below the soil, with a small group of leaves poking above ground. And especially the Llareta in Chile- a plant of tiny leaves massed so tightly together it looks like weirdly rounded blobs- I’ve never seen anything like that. I’d sure like to go see it in person someday. That plus Pando, the quaking aspen grove in Utah (80,000 years old) and the Chestnut of a Thousand Horses in Sicily (3,000 years old).
This book is the work of a professional photographer, who spent ten years travelling the world- she literally visited every continent- to view and capture images of the oldest things. Sadly two of them died by the time the book was published, succumbing to activities of humans- and others are threatened by encroaching development or climate change. Several of the species in this book are so rare the author was only allowed to view them from a distance, or to see propagated cuttings, not the original individual itself. When this was written she had a second book in mind, I hope to peruse it someday too. That all said, it felt a tad disappointing: I did wish for more actual information on the organisms in the book. The text is mostly just brief descriptions of the author’s travels and efforts to visit the sites of ancient living things, her emotions on finally seeing them, and a little bit of info gleaned from scientists she contacted or met with. Left me wanting to know much more.
Borrowed from the public library.
One Response
What a shame there isn’t more written information in this one as that would definitely be my thing. I really enjoyed two books by Carol Drinkwater, The Olive Tree and The Olive Route which took her all around The Med looking for ancient olive trees and trying to find the oldest. Fascinating stuff which I highly recommend.