Rachel Sussman is an artist who’s traveled around the world to compile photographs of the world’s oldest living organisms. Her work has been published in a book released this month titled The Oldest Living Things in the World…
Sussman’s project has taken her from deserts to oceans as she’s explored the most durable organisms in existence. However, despite the longevity these plants, trees, and other life forms have had, they’re also critically endangered. Of the 30 items she’s photographed, two have already died in just the last five years, both directly destroyed by humans.
Still, many of these subjects continue to stand against the forces of nature and the humans encroaching on their environment. These are just a few of the living things found in Sussman’s book…
Underground Baobab Forest — 13,000 years old (deceased since the photo was taken), Pretoria, South Africa
Antarctic Moss — 5,500 years old, Elephant Island, Antarctica
La Llareta (flowering plant) — Up to 3,000 years old, Atacama Desert, Chile
Jōmon Sugi (a Japanese cedar) — 2,180-7,000 years old, Yakushima, Japan
Spruce Gran Picea — 9,550 years old, Fulufjället, Sweden
Welwitschia Mirabilis — 2,000 years old, Namib-Naukluft Desert, Namibia
(via Colossal)