Question: Do plants die of old age?

Alex Seeney answered on 18 Jun 2018:

Yes, but not quite in the same way that animals do. You’re talking about something called senescence, which is the gradual decrease in function of complex lifeforms, like humans. In plants, senescence causes a few changes which we are quite familiar with – the leaves change colour and fall off, annual plants die, and perennial plants (those that continue to grow year after year) go dormant for the winter. In theory, if exposed to the right conditions, a plant would continue to grow and grow indefinitely. The oldest plant on record is a species of pine tree, which has been estimated at over 5000 years old!