A post going viral on social media platform X has once again raised an old question: What is the oldest tree in the world? The viral post claims that a baobab tree in Tanzania is 6,000 years old and calls it the oldest tree on Earth. The caption reads, “A 6000-year-old tree, in Tanzania. The oldest tree in the world.”

Trees are known to live for thousands of years, and scientists across the world study different species to understand how long they can survive. However, the viral claim prompted experts and researchers to recheck the facts, as such an age would be extraordinary.

Scientists say the most reliable way to determine the age of a tree is through carbon dating or tree-ring analysis. These methods are widely used to study ancient trees and fossils. According to experts contacted by AFP Fact Check, there is no scientific proof that any tree on Earth is 6,000 years old.

Researchers have clarified that the oldest proven living tree is not in Africa, but in the United States. Studies of baobab trees show that they are among the largest and longest-living flowering trees, but their age does not match the viral claim. One of the oldest known baobab trees, located in Zimbabwe, was estimated to be about 2,450 years old before it died.

Experts say baobabs can live for over 2,000 years, and in rare cases, close to 3,000 years, but none have been scientifically proven to be anywhere near 6,000 years old. There is also confusion about the photo used in the viral post. Earlier versions of the same image claimed it was taken in Senegal, not Tanzania. Tom Kirkwood, a specialist in ageing, told AFP that he has never come across a baobab tree even remotely close to 6,000 years old.

The title of the oldest living tree in the world currently belongs to the Great Basin bristlecone pine, a rare species found in parts of Nevada, California, and Utah in the US. According to researchers from the Rocky Mountain Tree Ring Research group, the oldest known living tree, called Methuselah, is about 4,850 years old. Another bristlecone pine named Prometheus, believed to be nearly 4,900 years old, was cut down decades ago.

Scientists also point out that tree size does not indicate age, especially in tropical regions where growth rings are difficult to study. While new research methods may change current understanding in the future, experts agree that bristlecone pines remain the oldest proven living trees on Earth so far.