Ontario’s oldest trees

This tree at Lion’s head is over 1300 years-old, it is the second oldest tree known in Ontario. Source: Ontario’s old-growth forests

The oldest known tree in Ontario is an eastern white cedar growing on the cliffs of Lion’s Head that germinated in the year 688 AD, it is over 1330 years old. The oldest hardwoood tree in Ontario (and in Canada) is a black gum near Niagara Falls that is over 580 years old. Red pines reach 500 years-old and hemlocks at least 460 years. A hemlock in Algonquin Park that is 408 years old is part of an unprotected forest. Learn more about Ontario’s oldest and biggest trees, including where to see them, in Ontario’s old-growth forests: a guidebook. Ontario’s oldest trees are at risk from invasive species, please sign this petition to protect them.

Below is the most up-to-date list of Ontario’s oldest trees. – ages in bold are the oldest verifiable age from a living tree (alive at time of aging). Updated January 2022:

SpeciesAgeLocationNotes
Conifers
Black Spruce Picea mariana
Lifespan >370 yrs
343North of Smooth Rock Falls326 year ring count. Vasiliauskas 2006
330Sleeping Giant Prov. Park330 year ring count, Roughly 25 cm diameter. Girardin et al.
Hemlock Tsuga canadensis
Lifespan >550 yrs
454Algonquin Park430 year count, 50 cm diameter. Vasiliauskas 1995
435Niagara GorgeAged by tree core. Kershner, 2004
460Mark S. Burnham Prov. Park439 year count, 53 cm diameter, recently dead when cored.  Henry 2005. Photo
408Algonquin Park384-year ring count, 51 cm DBH. Unprotected. Henry et al. 2018.
Jack Pine Pinus banksiana246Blue Lake (near Timmins) Girardin et al.
Red Pine Pinus resinosa
Lifespan >500 yrs
400Blue Lake (near Timmins)400 year ring count, 65 cm diameter. Girardin et al.
400White Bear Forest, Temagami385-year ring count. 55 cm diameter. Quinby et al 1998 .
500near Granite Lake, KenoraExact 500-year ring count. This tree was cut in 1992 for a power line. St. George 2006
Tamarack Larix laricina
Lifespan >371 yrs
180Snake Creek 161 year count , 37 cm diameter. Henry 2017
White Cedar Thuja occidentalis1316Niagara EscarpmentDwarfed cliff cedar, germinated 688 AD. Kelly and Larson 2004, Kelly and Larson 2007, Larson 2005. Photo
1890Niagara EscarpmentThis ancient cliff cedar had been dead for centuries but was preserved under a rock overhang. 1567 rings were counted, estimated age 1890 years. Larson 2001, Larson 2005, Kelly and Larson 2007
1653Niagara Escarpment1653 rings were counted on a dead trunk. This is the longest complete ring count on an ancient cedar in Ontario. Kelly and Larson 2007
344Sleeping Giant Prov. ParkGrowing in swamp forest.  Girardin et al.
White Pine Pinus strobus486Dividing Lake Nature ReserveAge reported to be accurate within +/- 23 years. Guyette and Dey 1995
388Quinn Lake, AlgomaGrowing since 1603. Arbex 1991
>500Swan Lake, Algonquin ParkPreserved underwater. Guyette and Cole 1999
Hardwoods
Balsam Poplar Populus balsamifera207 Vasiliauskas 2005
Beech Fagus grandifolia
Lifespan >366 yrs
204Backus Woods51 cm DBH. Larson et al. 1999
Bitternut Hickory275Beamer Memorial Conservation AreaRing count from a fallen log, 24″ diameter. Kershner 2003
Black Ash Fraxinus nigra
Lifespan >319 yrs
218 Algonquin Park 203-year ring count, 57 cm diameter. Unprotected. Henry and Quinby 2018
319 Lac Duparquet, Quebec In the Quebec claybelt, east of the Ontario border.
Black Gum Nyssa sylvatica
Lifespan >679 yrs
580Niagara Falls564-year ring count. 20.8m high, 59.2cm DBH. Torenvliet 2015. Photo
510Bowmans Archery Club Black Gum Grove, Niagara Falls498-year ring count. Torenvliet 2015
(407)Backus Woods300-year ring count (extrapolated). Mccaw 1985
Black Walnut Juglans nigra260Rondeau Provincial ParkRings were counted from the stump of a windthrown tree. Bartlett 1958
Flowering Dogwood Cornus florida195BurlingtonTree was recently dead. 180 rings were counted on a section taken 7 feet from the base. Torenvliet 2021. Photo of section.
Ironwood Carpinus caroliniana245Algonquin Park230-year ring count. Diameter was less than 20 cm. Vasiliauskas 1995
Mountain Paper Birch  Betula cordifolia 240Rainbow falls Prov. ParkRoughly 35 cm diameter.  Girardin et al.
Red Oak Quercus Rubra
Lifespan >326 yrs
280Rondeau Provincial ParkRings were counted from the stump of a windthrown tree. Bartlett 1958
Shagbark Hickory Carya ovata 416Harold Mitchell Nature Reserve401 rings counted at 1.4 m from ground. Extensive periods of extremely slow growth. Torenvliet 2021
380 Niagara Region 365-year ring count. 51 cm diameter. 15 years were added to reach breast height, a conservative estimate considering slow growth near the pith. Torenvliet
250Rondeau Provincial ParkRings were counted from the stump of a windthrown tree. Bartlett 1958
Silver Maple Acer saccharinum380Backus WoodsThis was the counted age on a tree core taken from a 51 cm silver maple. Martin and Martin 2001, Martin 2006
Sugar Maple Acer saccharum 350 Mark S. Burnham Provincial Park 330-year ring count, 72 cm diameter. Bakowsky 2013
>300Peter’s WoodsRing count of 280 years, 66 cm diameter. Estimated age was 460 years from 20 cm core. Martin and Martin 2001, Martin 2006
380Waterloo CountyThe “Merlau Maple” was growing in Waterloo County from about 1610 to 1990. www.whaton.uwaterloo.ca /waton/climate.html
>300 Pelham   The “Comfort Maple,” age reported to be 500 years but unconfirmed. NPCA 2005
Trembling Aspen Populus tremuloides213Lake Abitibi Model Forest Lefort 2005
Tulip Tree Liriodendron tulipifera
Lifespan >509 yrs
245Backus Woods71cm diameter. Larson et al. 1999
White Ash Fraxinus americana260Rondeau Provincial ParkRings were counted from the stump of a windthrown tree. Bartlett 1958
White Elm Ulmus americana267Bruce CountyTree was cut because of dutch elm disease. The Sauble Elm
White Oak Quercus alba
Lifespan >464 yrs
>350Peter’s Woods330 year ring count (missing 1/3 of core, 91 cm diameter. Rings “very narrow throughout” the core, estimated age 450 years. Martin and Martin 2001, Martin 2006
560Hamilton areaWilkie counted the rings of a cut stump about two metres in diameter. Wilkie 1837
Yellow Birch Betula alleghaniensis>387Algonquin ParkActual ring count. Tree had heart rot beyond 387 rings. Vasiliauskas 1995
(610)Algonquin ParkAge was corrected for heart rot from a short section of core – this age is unreliable, but tantalizing. Martin and Martin 2001, Martin 2006
Ontario’s oldest tree, an eastern white cedar that germinated in the year 688 AD. Photo: Peter Kelly.
Ontario’s oldest hardwood tree is a 580-year-old black gum near Niagara Falls. With Nate Torenvliet, who aged the tree.
Ontario’s oldest trees are over 1000 years old. Source: Ontario’s old-growth forests
The Sauble Elm
The hemlock in the center was 460 years old when it died and 53 cm diameter
Ontario’s oldest accurately aged sugar maple is about 350 years old (330 year ring count)
Cross-section of a flowering dogwood that was roughly 200 years old when it died, making it the oldest known in Ontario (Photo by Nate Torenvliet)

Please let me know about old trees with accurate ring counts (either from tree cores, or cross sections of dead trees). Email: info@oldgrowth.ca

Most of Ontario’s oldest trees are relatively small, because tree size and age are not strongly related, especially in very old trees (learn more about recognizing old trees). There is no comprehensive up to date list of Ontario’s largest trees, but an antiquated (2003) version and some up-to-date links is available at the Honour roll of Ontario Trees.

A list of the oldest known trees in eastern North America is found here https://www.ldeo.columbia.edu/~adk/oldlisteast/ which is a subset of the list of the oldest trees in North America.

Support Old-Growth Forest Conservation

You can support work to protect old-growth forests in Algonquin Park, the Spanish Forest, Temagami, and Southern Ontario by contributing to my GoFundMe campaign to Save Ontario’s old-growth forests. Any size of contribution helps me keep doing this work, and supports this website. Thank you!

Sources

  • Arbex Forest Development Co. Ltd. 1991. Life science resource features of selected areas containing old white and red pine (site region 4E – Ontario)
  • Bakowsky, W. D. (2013) using external characteristics to identify old growth hardwood trees. Tree Coring Project Conducted at Mark. S. Burnham Provincial Park for Ontario Parks March 31, 2013. 8 pp.
  • Bartlett, C.O. 1958. A study of some deer and forest relationships in Rondeau Provincial Park. Wildlife series No. 7. Ontario Department of Lands and Forests.
  • Girardin MP, Tardif JC, Flannigan MD, Bergeron Y (in press) Synoptic scale atmospheric circulation and summer drought variability of the past three centuries, boreal Canada. Journal of Climate, in press.
  • Guyette, R.P. and W.G. Cole. 1999. Age characteristics of coarse woody debris (Pinus strobus) in a lake littoral zone. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Science 56: 496–505.
  • Guyette, R.P. and D.C. Dey. 1995. Age, size and regeneration of old growth white pine at Dividing Lake Nature Reserve, Algonquin Park, Ontario. Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources, Ontario Forest Research Institute, Sault Ste. Marie, Forest Research Report No. 131, 11p.
  • Henry, M. 2005. Unpublished data.
  • Henry, M. 2017. Unpublished data.
  • Henry, M. & P. Quinby. 2018. The Hurdman Creek Old-Growth Forest: an Unprotected Endangered Old-Growth Forest in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario. Ancient Forest Exploration & Research, Preliminary Results Bulletin #2. 9 pp.
  • Henry, M.; Torenvliet, N.; Quinby, P.A. 2018. The Cayuga Lake Old-Growth Forest Landscape: an Unprotected Endangered Ecosystem in Algonquin Provincial Park, Ontario Ancient Forest Exploration & Research, Preliminary Results Bulletin #6. 10 pp.
  • Kelly, P.E. and D.W. Larson. 2004. The Niagara Escarpment Ancient Tree Atlas Project; Volume 2. Unpublished Report, 54p.
  • Kelly, P.E. and D.W. Larson. 1997. Effects of rock climbing on populations of presettlement eastern white cedar (Thuja occidentalis) on cliffs of the Niagara Escarpment, Canada. Conservation Biology 11: 1125-1132.
  • Kelly, P.E. and D.W. Larson. 2007. The Last Stand: A Journey Through the Ancient Cliff-Face Forest of the Niagara Escarpment. Natural Heritage Books. 176 pp.
  • Kershner, B. 2003. Old growth forest survey of Niagara Peninsula
  • Kersher, B. 2004. Personal communication, September 16 2004.
  • Larson, B.M., J.L. Riley, E.A. Snell and H.G. Godschalk. 1999. The Woodland Heritage of Southern Ontario: A Study of Ecological Change, Distribution and Significance. Federation of Ontario Naturalists, Don Mills, Ontario. 262 pp.
  • Larson, D. W. 2001. The paradox of great longevity in a short-lived trees species. Experimental Gerontology: 36: 651-673.
  • Larson, D. W., Personal Communication, November 15, 2005.
  • Lefort, P., Personal Communication, February 20, 2005.
  • Martin, N.D. and N.M. Martin. 2001. Biotic Forest Communities of Ontario. Commonwealth Research, Belleville, Ontario. 195 pp.
  • Martin, N.D., Personal Communication, April 1, 2006.
  • McCaw, P.E., 1985. The status of black gum (“Nyssa sylvatica” Marsh.) in Backus Woods, Southern Ontario. Masters Thesis, University of Toronto. 136 Pages.
  • Niagara Peninsula Conservation Authority (NPCA), 2005. Personal communication.
  • Quinby, P., M. Henry and T. Lee. 1998. Unpublished Data. Core extracted by M. Henry.
  • St. George, S. (Laboratory of Tree-Ring Research, University of Arizona), Personal Communication, February 21, 2006.
  • Tardif, J., and Y. Bergeron, 1999. Population dynamics of Fraxinus nigra in response to flood-level variations, in northwestern Quebec. Ecological Monographs. 69(1): 107-125.
  • Torenvliet, N., 2015. Personal communication. January 21, 2015.
  • Torenvliet, N., Personal communication. Feb 19 & Nov 3, 2021.
  • Torenvliet, N., Personal communication.
  • Vasiliauskas, S. A. 1995. Interpretation of age-structure gaps in Hemlock (Tsuga canadensis) populations of Algonquin Park. Ph.D. Thesis, Department of Biology, Queen’s University. 170 pp.
  • Vasiliauskas, S. A., Personal Communication, November 25, 2005.
  • Vasiliauskas, S. A., Personal Communication, February 9, 2006.
  • Wilkie, D. 1837. Sketches of a summer trip to New York and the Canadas. Edinburgh.