Tree rings may be useful in providing an historical record of biologically available trace elements in their surrounding environments. The explicit mechanisms or pathways by which trees take up different elements still require additional study, and the purpose of this work was to perform a systematic survey of trace elements in trees of different species and to establish base-line levels using samples of old trees. This paper reports on anomalously high levels (up to 170 parts per million) of germanium observed in the rings of a 45,000-year-old tree. Germanium has rarely been reported previously as a component of trees and as the germanium levels follow a Gaussian-type distribution as a function of the tree ring, it was decided to report on this observation although the cause can only be speculated about at this stage. -- AATA