Jess & Ed,

> Mountains and another mountain range (Korkorums?)

Maybe Karakoram (en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Karakoram).

> Let me know if you would like copies of the articles.

Yes, that would be great!

The references for the Juniperus communis ages. Here we meet the
language barriers: I believe there is nothing in English. I don't know
the original study, it was some decades ago, and the tree had the same
destiny as the oldest bristlecone pine. The tree is mentioned e.g. in
this article on dendrochronology:

Matti Eronen: "Puulustot: ympäristömuutosten tietopankki". Tieteessä
tapahtuu, 6/2002, pp. 4-9.

It is online here:
http://www.tieteessatapahtuu.fi/026/eronen.pdf

A translation of the third paragraph of page 5 (page number on the
right):

"The most long-lived tree occurring in Finland is common juniper
(Juniperus communis), which most often grows to a multistemmed shrub.
In Utsjoki some decades ago, a juniper has been found, from which
about 1070 year rings have been counted. However, the old juniper has
been cutted by such study and its growth has terminated so."

The article says too, that in northern Sweden a scots pine has been
found, which was almost 1000 years old. Matti Eronen is a professor of
geology and paleontology in Helsinki University. I sent a question to
finnish dendrologists, if they know the original references.

I think this example shows clearly, there have been a lot of study we
are not aware, and if we hear of such studies, we label them "not
confirmed", because we cannot read the original text and methods they
used. As English has become a global language, this mechanism leads to
a situation where so many of records are located in English-speaking
countries. Hopefully, such projects, as Jess and Ed explained, lead to
a better knowledge about what trees globally are able to achieve.

Jess, how tall is the tallest Juniperus communis, you have found?

- Kouta

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