About the Jurupa Oak

The Jurupa Oak or Hurungna Oak is an isolated clonal colony Palmer's Oak (Quercus palmeri) located in the Jurupa Mountains in Riverside County California. This plant is disjunct from other members of its species and is the only known Palmer's Oak from within the entire 2,650 square mile Santa Ana River Watershed in which the Oak persists.

The publication A Pleistocene Clone of Palmer's Oak Persisting in Southern California determines the Oak's age to be between 13,000 and 18,000 years old making it one of the oldest living organisms and the third oldest living plant on the planet.

The Site of the Jurupa Oak as well as the surrounding area is a designated sacred site by the Gabrieleño Band of Mission Indians.

Links and Additional Information

PlosOne (2009): A Pleistocene Clone of Palmer's Oak Persisting in Southern California https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0008346

L.A. Times (2009): Jurupa Hills oak may be California's oldest plant

https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2009-dec-22-la-sci-oak23-2009dec23-story.html

National Geographic (2009): The 13,000-year old tree that survives by cloning itself https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/the-13000-year-old-tree-that-survives-by-cloning-itself

International Oak Society (2010): 13,000-year-old Quercus palmeri Discovered https://www.internationaloaksociety.org/content/13000-year-old-quercus-palmeri-discovered

The Oldest Living Things in the World (2011): THE 13,000-YEAR-OLD OAK OF THE INLAND EMPIRE https://www.oldestlivingthings.com/oltw/2011/02/13000-year-old-oak-of-inland-empire.html

PBS (2014): If Bill Nye Was a Very Old Tree, What Kind of Very Old Tree Would He Be? https://www.pbssocal.org/redefine/if-bill-nye-was-a-very-old-tree-what-kind-of-very-old-tree-would-he-be

The Raincross Gazette: California Oldest Tree - A Riverside County Celebrity https://www.raincrossgazette.com/californias-oldest-tree-a-riverside-county-celebrity/?ref=raincrossgazette.com&fbclid=IwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTEAAR3AW-PMG03mdleH13-Cs7jSiPthTKnuU-IBQTufu0HtUgv-av3EWlDn1a4_aem_N0RYrwmVbJLexz-Ru5OP_Q

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