Scientists believe that a tree - or rather a genetically identical thicket of Palmer's oak - nestled in a gulch on Riverside County's Jarupa Hills is the oldest living plant in California. According to an article in the online plant science journal PLoS ONE, the solitary plant has been growing in that spot for more than 13,000 years.

The discovery was covered widely in the press, including the New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, the