Trees older than T. rex


	March 11, 2026

Original photo by Xiangli Li/ Shutterstock

Magnolia trees are so old they coexisted with dinosaurs.

Life as we know it today is less the result of a steady evolutionary flow than a series of cataclysmic fits and starts. To date, the Earth has experienced five mass extinctions, a variety of ice ages, and other climatic changes that have had huge impacts on plant and animal life, often wiping the terrestrial slate clean. However, a few incredible survivors live among us — including magnolias.

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		Numbers Don't Lie

Months it took for all land-based dinosaurs to die out 65 million years ago

Running time of Paul Thomas Anderson's 1999 film "Magnolia," starring Tom Cruise and Julianne Moore

188

Years ago that moss, the world's oldest living plant group, first appeared on Earth

470 million

Estimated number of magnolia species, not including cultivars or hybrids

220

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The world's loneliest tree species survived the extinction of the dinosaurs.

In 1895, British botanist John Medley Wood was exploring the Ngoya Forest on the coast of South Africa when he came across an ancient-looking tree. Although he didn't know it at the time, this particular cycad (now called Encephalartos woodii in his honor) was the only specimen left in existence. Some 250 million years ago, at the dawn of the Triassic, cycads — including Encephalartos woodii — dominated the globe. This particular species survived the explosive asteroid impact that likely snuffed out land-based dinosaurs, and a half-dozen or so ice ages, until only one solitary male specimen was left. That specimen is believed to have died in 1964, although basal offsets of the stem (essentially clones of the original cycad) can be found in botanical gardens around the globe. Alas, Encephalartos woodii needs a female in order to produce naturally, and several expeditions to find a plant partner have failed. Scientists are now trying to create a close approximation of a female woodii by mating the plant with a close cycad cousin (Encephalartos natalensis). With a little bit of luck, maybe one day the world's loneliest tree will find love again.

Today's edition of Interesting Facts was written by Darren Orf and edited by Bess Lovejoy.