That is not a typo.
The age is correct.
But this is not about a person that died, but rather about a tree
Washington Apple Tree
An apple tree thought to be the oldest in the Pacific Northwest has died this summer at 194 years of age.
The Old Apple Tree in Vancouver, Washington, was planted in 1826 when fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company settled in the area.
Legend has it that The Old Apple Tree came to Vancouver as a seed, transported by a British naval officer.
Apples produced by the Old Apple Tree were dubbed "English Greenings," a generic classification used to describe old-world apples, according to Charles Ray.
A DNA analysis performed by experts at Washington State University's Apple Genome Project revealed that the Old Apple Tree is genetically unique.
"The Old Apple Tree is not identical to any other named variety in a worldwide collaborative data set of several thousand apple variety DNA profiles," says Cameron Peace, a professor of tree fruit genetics at WSU.
"The Old Apple Tree is therefore unique, one-of-a-kind. It will carry genetic factors not present in other heirloom or modern cultivars," Peace added.
Scientists were able to establish that the Old Apple Tree is almost certainly a grandchild of the French Reinette, a 500-year-old variety dubbed "the grandmother of all apple cultivars," Peace explained.
Botanists (or whoever it is that studies trees) had seen signs of the tree's demise as far back as 2015.
As the Old Apple Tree's trunk was dying over time, several "root suckers" -- or new shoots -- started coming out of its root system.
"We made the determination to start nurturing these root suckers so that in the future we would have a new tree," Charles Ray told CNN.
"It's still the same root system, the same tree growing within that location," Ray added.
One of the saplings will remain in the same location to become the "new" Old Apple Tree over the years. Part of the original trunk will be removed to allow more light for the new tree, but part will remain on site to decay and illustrate the life cycle of trees.
The age is correct.
But this is not about a person that died, but rather about a tree
Washington Apple Tree
An apple tree thought to be the oldest in the Pacific Northwest has died this summer at 194 years of age.
The Old Apple Tree in Vancouver, Washington, was planted in 1826 when fur traders of the Hudson's Bay Company settled in the area.
Legend has it that The Old Apple Tree came to Vancouver as a seed, transported by a British naval officer.
Apples produced by the Old Apple Tree were dubbed "English Greenings," a generic classification used to describe old-world apples, according to Charles Ray.
A DNA analysis performed by experts at Washington State University's Apple Genome Project revealed that the Old Apple Tree is genetically unique.
"The Old Apple Tree is not identical to any other named variety in a worldwide collaborative data set of several thousand apple variety DNA profiles," says Cameron Peace, a professor of tree fruit genetics at WSU.
"The Old Apple Tree is therefore unique, one-of-a-kind. It will carry genetic factors not present in other heirloom or modern cultivars," Peace added.
Scientists were able to establish that the Old Apple Tree is almost certainly a grandchild of the French Reinette, a 500-year-old variety dubbed "the grandmother of all apple cultivars," Peace explained.
Botanists (or whoever it is that studies trees) had seen signs of the tree's demise as far back as 2015.
As the Old Apple Tree's trunk was dying over time, several "root suckers" -- or new shoots -- started coming out of its root system.
"We made the determination to start nurturing these root suckers so that in the future we would have a new tree," Charles Ray told CNN.
"It's still the same root system, the same tree growing within that location," Ray added.
One of the saplings will remain in the same location to become the "new" Old Apple Tree over the years. Part of the original trunk will be removed to allow more light for the new tree, but part will remain on site to decay and illustrate the life cycle of trees.
