Status Updates From Bristlecone Book: A Natural...

But there is more to be learned from these old conifers than platitudes about overcoming adversity. Studies of aging in Great Basin bristlecone pine have found, remarkably, that evidence of senescence -- a degenerative aging process leading to death -- seems nowhere to be found.

Ancient bristlecone pines have been a problem for 'young earth creationists who take the biblical account of creation literally. They believe that Noah's flood occurred about 4,000 years ago. Yet there was one bristlecone which had at least 4,862 annual rings when felled in 1964.

A pretty good overall description of the Foxtail pine family, the basics of tree physiology and theories on why the Great Basin Bristlecones are among the longest lived plants on Earth.