Scientists formally described Tessmannia princeps, a giant rainforest tree from Tanzania’s Udzungwa Mountains, as a new species in 2025. The “3,000-year-old” claim needs qualification: a news report attributes an age estimate of 2,000–3,000 years to growth rings in a naturally fallen tree, but that estimate is not in the accessible abstract of the scientific description.
What scientists discovered
Tessmannia princeps is a tree in the legume family, native to the Udzungwa Mountains of central Tanzania. Kew’s Plants of the World Online lists the name as accepted and gives that mountain range as its native range: Kew Plants of the World Online.
“New species” here means newly described and named in the scientific literature, not necessarily first encountered in 2025. Andrea Bianchi, Laura Tomasi, Aloyce Mwakisoma, Matteo Barbieri and Quentin Luke published the formal description in Phytotaxa 694(2), pages 109–118, on 20 March 2025: the taxonomic paper.
What makes Tessmannia princeps distinctive?
The paper describes it as a montane rainforest tree that rises above the forest canopy. It is unarmed, has a heavily buttressed trunk, and bears many leaflets. These features help characterize the tree, but identifying a species depends on a combination of botanical traits and its ecological and geographic context.
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How it differs from Tessmannia densiflora
The new species resembles another Tanzanian tree, Tessmannia densiflora. The authors explain that the two can nevertheless be distinguished by morphology as well as ecology and geography. Their abstract states: “Tessmannia princeps shows morphological affinities with another Tanzanian species, T. densiflora, nevertheless the two species can be distinguished by morphological characters as well as by ecology and geography.”
Is the tree really 3,000 years old?
The Daily Galaxy reported in 2025 that growth rings in a naturally fallen tree were used to estimate that the oldest trees are 2,000–3,000 years old. That is a secondary report, not an age figure established by the accessible abstract of the 2025 taxonomic paper. The careful conclusion is that a very old age has been reported, but the abstract alone does not verify the estimate: The Daily Galaxy’s report.
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The same report gives a maximum height of 131 feet. Because that figure is likewise not included in the accessible abstract, it should be understood as a reported measurement rather than a figure confirmed by the abstract.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.What is known about its conservation status?
The taxonomic paper’s authors assessed T. princeps as Vulnerable under IUCN criteria. They cite its restricted range and a small number of recorded mature individuals. This describes the authors’ assessment in the paper; it does not establish that a separate, current IUCN Red List listing has been verified.
The abstract does not provide a population total, so a precise count should not be inferred from its wording. A restricted mountain range and few recorded mature individuals are reasons for concern, but the cited evidence does not justify treating an unverified number as a confirmed census.
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