Fascinating Plants

Some of the oldest Plants

The Judean date palm (previously extinct) at Kibbutz Ketura, Israel was grown from a 2000 year old seed and is the oldest verified human-assisted germination of a seed.  The seeds were found in a jar during excavations in Israel around 1965. Of the 3 seeds which were planted in 2005, one grew into a healthy plant. More details can be found here.

However, the oldest plant ever to be regenerated is from a 32,000 year old fruit tissue buried in Siberian permafrost. It is a flowering plant - Silene stenophylla- that was successfully regenerated by Russian scientists in 2012. Read more here.

The oldest living tree is around 5000 years old - a bristle cone pine - found in the White mountains, California, US. Its exact location is kept a secret to avoid damage from enthusiastic tourists!! More here. 

The Maha Bodhi Tree at Anuradhapura, Srilanka is the oldest living human-planted tree in the world, with a definitive planting date – 288 BC! The sapling was brought to Srilanka by Sanghamitra the daughter of the Indian King Ashoka and is a branch of the original tree under which the Buddha attained enlightenment. 

Finally, from Wikipedia, a list of the oldest tree.