A juniper shrub in Utsjoki, Finnish Lapland, has been dated to 1,647 years old, making it the world's oldest shrub identified by annual rings and the oldest woody plant in Europe using this method.

Until now, the record for the oldest tree in Europe was held by a Bosnian pine (Pinus heldreichii) that was only 1,200 years old. Remarkably, the trunk of the common juniper measures less than 10 ...

To determine the age of the juniper shrub, scientists used dendrochronology techniques, specifically studying growth rings. They estimated that the juniper sprouted in 378 CE. 1,647-year-old ...