PRIMITIVE FORESTS

10 Ancient Plant Species That Are Still Around Today

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Compared to the age of our planet, we humans aren’t too different from toddlers, still figuring out how things work on Earth. But some plant species have been around for far longer than us, yet they continue to defy time and evolutionary pressures, offering us a unique window into a world long lost.

Put on your gardening boots and join us for a look at 10 of the most remarkable botanical survivors.

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Considered a "living fossil", ginkgo biloba goes back over 270 million years and has changed very little since the age of dinosaurs. Easily identifiable for their distinctive fan-shaped leaves, ginkgo trees are revered for their medicinal properties, particularly in traditional Chinese medicine. The last living species of its botanical order, this tree is exceptionally hardy, with some specimens considered to be older than 2,500 years.

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Popularly known as a "dinosaur tree," the Wollemi Pine (Wollemia nobilis) was thought to be extinct until its rediscovery in 1994 in a remote Australian forest. Belonging to a family that dates back over 200 million years, this ancient conifer is a botanical marvel. Interestingly, despite its common name, Wollemia__nobilis is not a true pine, nor a member of the pine family.

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Horsetails (Equisetum) have thrived for over 300 million years, making them one of the oldest surviving plant lineages. These primitive plants are the only living genus of its family, and are characterized by their jointed stems and spore-producing cones. During the late Paleozoic Era, these plants dominated the understory of forests and fossils are often found in coal deposits of that period.

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Ferns are among the oldest vascular plants on Earth, with fossils dating back around 360 million years. They don’t produce seeds or flowers, and reproduce entirely via spores. Despite their ancient origins, ferns continue to flourish worldwide and are highly adaptable, living in a wide variety of habitats, from lush forests to dry rock. Many species are highly dependent on a symbiotic relationship with mycorrhizal fungi, underscoring the evolutionary importance of this interspecies interaction.

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Cycads are another botanical class that has remained relatively unchanged for over 200 million years. These palm-like plants were once abundant during the Mesozoic era and are now prized for their ornamental value in gardens and landscapes. Interestingly, cycads rely on extremely specialized pollinators - usually a specific species of beetle - and are dioecious, meaning that individual plants can either be male or female.

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One of the strangest plants in this list, the Welwitschia mirabilis is a living relic of a bygone era, with a lineage stretching back over 90 million years. Its appearance is so alien that, if you stumbled upon it by chance, you might easily confuse a very healthy individual with a dying one. Endemic to the Namib Desert, this peculiar plant is very well adapted to survive extreme arid conditions, and some can live well over 2,000 years! Curiously, since the plant does not form tree rings or any similar structures, the only way to determine its age is by radiocarbon dating.

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Liverworts, simple plants resembling mosses, have persisted for over 470 million years, making them one of the oldest known plant groups. These small, ancient organisms are often overlooked, but play crucial roles in ecosystems, from providing habitat to influencing nutrient cycling. They are found all over the world, and are adapted to almost every available habitat, from warm humid forests to the Arctic tundra.

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Once thought to be extinct, the discovery of living specimens in China in the 1940s astonished botanists. Dawn Redwoods (Metasequoia glyptostroboides) belong to a genus that dates back over 100 million years, and it is the last surviving representative of it. Although the species is classified as critically endangered in the wild, there are many specimens planted in botanical collections worldwide, and the trees are highly valued for their fast growth and stunning autumn foliage.

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Araucaria trees, such as the iconic Monkey Puzzle tree, trace their ancestry back over 200 million years. These ancient conifers have adapted to diverse environments, from tropical rainforests to temperate regions, showcasing remarkable resilience. Although predominantly found in the Southern Hemisphere nowadays, during the Jurassic and Cretaceous periods, they were widespread across the globe.

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Mosses have been around for over 470 million years, making them some of the oldest plants on Earth. Like all non-vascular plants, they lack most parts we ordinarily associate with plants, like flowers, leaves, or even roots. But despite their simple structure and diminutive size, mosses are key players in ecosystems, aiding in soil retention, moisture regulation, and carbon sequestration. If you are ever lost in a mossy forest, note that they tend to thrive on the north side of trees and rocks (in the Northern Hemisphere) due to receiving less direct sunlight. In the Southern Hemisphere, the opposite holds true.

BELIEVE IT OR NOT

Stranger Than Fiction: 10 Unbelievable Events That Actually Happened

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They say truth is stranger than fiction, and some of these historical events are living proof of this old adage.

Brace yourself for a rollercoaster ride through history, where the strange and unexpected take center stage in the theater of reality. From absurd battles to mysterious weather phenomena, these 10 astonishing tales will leave you thinking long and hard about the complexities of human history.

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Wars are typically waged between nations, but in 1932, Australia faced an unusual adversary: emus. After large numbers of these flightless birds invaded crucial farmland within Western Australia’s Wheatbelt, the government decided to intervene by sending soldiers armed with machine guns to reduce the emu population in the area. However, most attempts were ineffective at most, killing very few birds and costing thousands of dollars in supplies and ammunition.

As soon as the first shot was fired, the seemingly tame emu dispersed way beyond the range of the machine guns, and apparently switched to guerrilla tactics of sorts, avoiding all further military ambushes and frontal attacks while still feasting on the farmer’s crops. The government’s futile attempts were ridiculed and physical barrier methods to manage wildlife were preferred from then on. Sadly, they give no medals for having endured the Great Emu War.

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In 1518, the town of Strasbourg, France, was gripped by a strange and inexplicable phenomenon - people suddenly began dancing uncontrollably in the streets. The dancing madness persisted for weeks, with some of the affected succumbing to exhaustion or even death. The authorities at the time did not know how to react, and some people even joined the dancers voluntarily, as they feared it was a punishment from Saint Vitus (and presumably wanted to stay on the safe side).

After many efforts to fight the strange epidemic, the dancing eventually subsided and people in the town could resume their normal lives. While theories range from mass hysteria to hallucinogenic substances and neurological disorders like Sydenham's chorea, the event remains a historical enigma that challenges our understanding of the human mind and collective behavior.

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In 1908, a massive explosion flattened over 80 million trees in the remote Tunguska region of Siberia. The cause? A mysterious airburst, likely caused by the explosion of a meteoroid or comet in Earth's atmosphere. It is now estimated that the event had an explosive energy of 3 to 5 megatons, equivalent to over a thousand Hiroshima bombs. The resulting shockwave broke windows, and knocked people down hundreds of miles away, reaching an equivalent of an earthquake of 5.0 on the Richter scale in some areas.

A bright glow was observed in night skies in Asia and Europe for days after the event due to high-altitude ice particles that formed as a result of the explosion. For all its magnitude, the explosion left no visible crater and minimal debris beside the devastated forest. The Tunguska Event serves as a stark reminder of the potential cosmic threats that lurk in the darkness of space.

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Miscommunication can often lead to chaos, but rarely on the scale witnessed in the Battle of Karánsebes in 1788. The Austrian army, at the time facing the Ottoman Empire, descended into total anarchy when two different scouting parties mistook one another for the enemy, fired on each other, and raised the alarm.

Making matters worse, the Austrian army was made of men of different nationalities who more often than not could not understand each other. All attempts to end confusion and the ensuing friendly fire on the part of the Austrian emperor himself were in vain, and after a while - deeply demoralized - he was forced to give the order of retreat. When the Ottoman army arrived two days later, they found an empty battlefield and were able to take the city of Karánsebes without any resistance.

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In 1807, eight years before Waterloo, Napoleon Bonaparte had a humiliating defeat at the hands of a strange opponent - a horde of rabbits. During the celebrations that followed the Treaties of Tilsit - which effectively ended the war between the French and Imperial Russia - Napoleon’s chief of staff Alexandre Berthier had the idea of organizing a rabbit hunt to entertain its guests.

So far, nothing out of the ordinary for the time, but when the rabbits were simultaneously freed along the edges of a grassy field, instead of scattering as expected, all these fluffy beasts began running toward their amused hunters. But the fits of laughter didn’t last long, as the now-hunted hunters realized that there was nothing they could do to stop the relentless animals as they swarmed their positions and had no other choice than to flee. Some accounts state that Berthier had gathered around 3000 rabbits, so not even mighty Napoleon was a match for this unexpected army.

Apparently, the chief of staff's mistake was buying tame rabbits from local farmers, accustomed to being fed by humans, instead of trapping wild hares for the hunt. If we learned anything from the Great Emu War, the lesson is clear: never underestimate animals!

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In the aftermath of the eruption of Mount Tambora in Indonesia - the largest in at least 1,300 years - 1816 became known as the "Year Without a Summer." The volcanic ash floating in the atmosphere led to climate abnormalities worldwide, resulting in crop failures and widespread famine in the most affected areas.

In Europe and North America temperatures plummeted, and most crops suffered irreparable damage due to the persistent frost. In the United States, a "dry fog" was observed in the eastern regions, dimming sunlight so much that sunspots were visible to the naked eye. Also, the high level of volcanic particles present in the atmosphere caused strange optical effects in the following years, such as strong red hues during sunsets, which can be observed in many paintings produced at the time.

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It seems that wars against unusual adversaries are a fashionable trend in human history because the Roman Emperor Caligula declared war in the year 40 AD on no one other than the god Neptune himself, king of the raging seas.

Known for his eccentricity, Caligula allegedly ordered his legionnaires to "attack" the sea with swords and spears, after which he declared victory against the powerful god and told the men to gather seashells as trophies of war. One can only imagine that the soldiers had a fun -albeit puzzling- day.

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In the late 1980s, Pepsi briefly possessed the sixth-largest navy in the world. In exchange for commercializing Pepsi products in the Soviet Union, the company received 17 submarines, a cruiser, a frigate, and a destroyer.

However, the fleet was composed of obsolete and unseaworthy vessels that were destined to be turned into scrap almost immediately. The payment was made in the only resources the USSR could gather easily at the time, and it provided a way to establish profitable international relations - and open up to the world.

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The American Civil War started and concluded with a curious connection to Wilmer McLean, an American wholesale grocer from Virginia. The conflict's first major battle, the First Battle of Bull Run, took place in McLean's farm in 1861. A cannonball fell directly through the kitchen fireplace of the McLean’s house, which was being used as headquarters for the Confederate Army, destroying the dinner that was being prepared by the stationed officers - something that was noted not without humor by the Brigadier General P. G. T. Beauregard.

The McLean family moved to Appomattox, Virginia trying to escape the war, but just four years later, General Robert E. Lee surrendered to General Ulysses S. Grant in McLean's parlor, marking the conclusion of the Civil War. Unintentionally, McLean was a prime witness of one of America’s most defining conflicts. Later, he said of this: "The war began in my front yard and ended in my front parlor."

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Genghis Khan's vast empire and brutal military campaigns had an unexpected impact on the Earth's climate. A recent study suggests that the Mongol invasions in the 13th century led to a significant reduction in global carbon dioxide levels, as large areas of cultivated land returned to forests.

This had the unintentional effect of scrubbing as much as 700 million tonnes of carbon from the atmosphere, roughly equivalent to the global annual consumption of gasoline today. This drastic ecological shift highlights the effect that land use, and particularly deforestation can have on our planet at a large scale.