Visiting a #Tupelo #Nyssa_sylvatica / #SwampWhiteOak #Quercus_bicolor / #RedMaple #Acer_rubrum #wetlands on a record-breakingly hot February (66° F / 18.9° C) day in Acushnet, #Massachusetts

#Nyssa_sylvatica is the oldest known wetlands-dwelling angiosperm, however gymnosperms are another beast altogether. #BaldCypress #Taxodium_distichum from North Carolina have recently been found to live to at least 2,624 years old, making it the fifth-oldest (non-clonal) #tree . Both #Nyssa and #Taxodium occur in nutrient-poor wetlands, likely due to the “longevity under adversity” concept.

https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/2515-7620/ab0c4a/pdf

I was surprised to learn the oldest broadleaf deciduous #tree in the N. Hemisphere are… #Tupelo #Nyssa_sylvatica at a staggering 679 years old! It’s astounding they edge out *any* Oak, Beech, Hickory or Tuliptree. *AND* the oldest specimen wasn’t even found too far away from me!

https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fevo.2015.00046/full