Researchers found the world’s oldest bush in Utsjoki-Juniper Elder started growing in the 20th century

Italian researchers determined the age of Kataja as its annual tires. The plant died in 1906.

The oldest bush in the world has been found in Lapland in Finland. Researchers at the University of Italian Padova found Kataja in Utsjoki, which they age 1647. Age was determined on the basis of juniper annual rings.

According to the age determination, the juniper in question began to grow in Utsjoki in 260. The plant died in 1906.

This is the world’s oldest annual tires, defined by a defined shrub and an oldest wood -determined wooden plant throughout Europe.

Prior to this discovery, the 1017-year-old individual, who was found in Lemmenjoki, was considered the oldest juniper and oldest wooden plant in Finland.

There are other ancient junipers in Utsjoki

Italian researchers found Kataja back in 2021 when they visited Utsjoki at the Kevo Research Station of the University of Turku. At that time, Kataja’s age was defined for 1242 years.

Last year, researchers returned to Utsjoki and Kataja’s age determination became more specific. In addition, the research team found four other junipers in Utsjoki, over a thousand years.

Kevo Research Station is part of a network of research stations studying northern land environments. The Italian research team received an EU funding to arrive at the research station.

Juniper is the widest species spread in the world. The research team also explored old junipers of the Arctic and Subarctic regions, including in Greenland, Iceland and Norway. In addition to the Utsjoki River, over a thousand years old junipers were found in Kiruna, Sweden.