Why in News?
- Researchers reported that a banyan tree in Munger, Bihar, is about 700 years old, making it the world’s oldest accurately dated known banyan specimen in the study.
Key Details
- Scientists from the Birbal Sahni Institute of Palaeosciences (BSIP), Lucknow used radiocarbon dating to estimate its age.
- Such dating is especially useful for tropical trees where conventional annual growth rings may be absent or unreliable.
- The finding shows how scientific dating can help identify and document heritage trees.
Exam Connect
- Radiocarbon dating → Estimates age by measuring the decay of radioactive carbon-14 in organic material.