Re: How old can olive trees live? what is the oldest tree?

Olive trees typically live to be greater than 1000 years old, and some live to be greater than 1500. Often, the main trunk of the tree will die and become hollow, but offshoots or "sports" will grow from the base of the main trunk and allow the plant to continue living even though the main trunk has died.

Olive wood is not typically used in dendrochronology (the use of tree rings to date wood and wood artifacts), so there is not an exact figure available for the single oldest tree. There is a tree in Gethsemane, near Jerusalem, that is claimed to be over 1900 years old, and there are some on the islands of the Greek Archipelago which are claimed to be over 2000 years old. These claims have neither been verified nor refuted.

References:

Kuniholm, P.I. Dendrochronology.

http://www.arts.cornell.edu/dendro/ajatext.htmlor see: American Journal of Archaeology under the title "Science in Archaeology: A Review" (AJA 99:1995)

Lane, F.C. The story of Trees. Doubleday, NY. 1953.

Wilson, E.H. Aristocrats of the Trees. Dover, NY. 1974.