The Huon pine can reach prodigious
ages, often in excess of 2000 years, making it among the longest-lived organisms on Earth. Only the bristle-cone pine of North America exceeds it in age. International headlines were made with the discovery of a stand of Huon pines on Mt Read that was widely quoted as being in excess of 10 000 years of age. All the individuals in this population are genetically identical, and are all males. The stand arose from one or a small number of individuals, and has maintained itself by vegetative reproduction. It is important to remember that no individual tree in the Mt Read stand is 10 000 years old -- rather, the stand itself has been in existence for that long.