A new study to determine the age of iconic old-growth redwoods in California's Muir Woods has revealed that one of the tallest and most famous trees in the forest is much younger than many assumed given its massive size, scientists said on Tuesday.
Tree 76, so named because it towers 76 meters or 249 feet above the forest floor, is 777 years old, much younger than the oldest known redwood, according to a study by Humboldt State University, which has long been working with conservation group Save the Redwoods League on the impact of climate change on the trees.
"Tree 76 is one of the larger trees that you can walk near, so I think people have been guessing about its age for a long time," Save the Redwoods League Science Director Emily Burns said. "We know redwoods can live quite a long time. The oldest one that we know of is 2,500 years old."