A millenia-old churchyard tree, transitioning at ~3000 years of age.
Mounted on a wall in front of a church in a small village in Pershire, Scotland, is a sign that reads simply: THE YEW. Peering through the iron-barred gate next to the sign reveals a few wizened (although still vigorous) trunks, positioned at the extreme edges of a circle of wooden pegs. It also, generally, means sharing the view from the gate with at least one other visitor- the tree is a popular destination. This is because THE YEW in question is quite possibly the oldest living thing in all of Scotland- and, to hear some tell it, Europe as a whole.
The Fortingall Yew is estimated to be anywhere from 2,300 to 9000 years old. Dating yew trees is difficult, as they grow sporadically and from various directions, meaning growth patterns are twisted and inconsistent depending on climactic and environmental circumstances. Furthermore, as yews age their hearts rot, splintering the tree into multiple trunks that grow independently of one another. There's simply not enough material still present to date it with existing methods.
Regardless, the tree has been alive– and stately– long enough that evidence of an iron age cult has been found around its base, and when the region was Christianized in the 600s it was almost certainly the existing reverence for the tree that had the church built in place, not vice versa. A previously accepted number places the yew at 5000 years old, which makes it older than the not-so-distant Stonehenge. More conservative estimates call it 3000.
Yew trees' long lives make them a symbol of immortality– but they are also associated with death, as every part of the tree, from bark to berry, is poisonous. A good tree for a church yard.
The tree was measured at 56 and a half feet in circumference in 1769, but the interceding years saw a dwindling of the tree due to the ritual and souvenir cutting of the wood. By the 1850s, funerals were passing through the trunk of the tree. A wall was built around the tree in the latter half of the 1800s to preserve the few remaining trunks, and the original circumference of the yew was picked out on the ground in wooden pegs.
Recently, the tree has been exhibiting a change– while many species of trees can self pollinate, yew trees are sexed, either exhibiting only berries or only pollen. However, the Fortingall Yew made headlines ("quite a surprise") when one branch of the male tree was observed sporting red berries, a characteristic of a female yew. Never let it be said that it is too late to transition.
The Fortingall Yew can be reached by the 91A bus from Kenmore.
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