科学家发现加州最古老的植物

At first glance, this old bush looks much like many other plants in the area, but researchers say this shrub known as Palmer's Oak is considerably more special, because they believe it to be 13,000 years old, one of the oldest plants in the country. And it's literally right across the street from Jurupa Hills residence Samuel Cano.

13,000 years old,I mean that's a long time. A lot of history.Wow! And this literally could predate man in North America if my guesses are right. Scientist Andrew Sanders says what he found odd about this particular plant is that it's typically found high in the mountains, not down here.So it got him and others thinking what if this oak bush sprouted during a much colder era. So they dated the plant and sure enough it probably was around during the ice age.

The main thing that strikes me is that we've got where literally looking at a bit of what the world was like in the Ice Age. I mean we don't have to look at a fossil in this case. We can see the living individuals. So as far as researchers can tell this exact plant was growing here at the same time mastodons and sabre tooth tigers were roaming the area. The big question: how did it survive all these years.

I think the main thing is that it's manage to get into this narrow rocky crevasse on a north facing slope. So it's start to shade it. Scientists believe the shrub to be at least 1,000 years older than this creosote bushes in Palm Springs. So while that they may not look like much, this 75-foot-long old bush is in fact the oldest known living plant in the state,right here in Jurupa Hills.

This is Rob for ABC News

Words:

sprout: of plants, vegetables, etc. to produce new leaves or buds

mastodon:【古生】乳齿象

sabre tooth tigers:剑齿虎

The creosote bush: (Latin name: Larrea tridentata) is common in the Desert Southwest. The creosote bush can be identified from its waxy green leaves and yellow flowers.