A Ranger writes

A quick wander around local woodlands will probably reveal all sort of coniferous trees. Most are evergreen and therefore can stand out as a bit of colour in an otherwise drab landscape. The majority of species on show are likely to be non-native and can include spruces, firs, larches and some pines. In fact, we only have three native conifer species – the Scots pine, the juniper and the yew.

Yews are very long-lived trees, indeed they are thought to be the longest-living plants in Europe. A famous yew in the churchyard at Fortingall, Perthshire is estimated to be between two and three thousand years old. Legend has it that Pontius Pilate was born under this tree, although a large pinch of salt may be necessary for this story. One of East Lothian’s finest yews, near Ormiston, may be eight hundred years old, although it could even be several centuries older than this. Both the Ormiston yew and another fine specimen at Whittingehame exhibit a feature known as layering. This involves branches growing out from the main trunk before dropping to the ground where they put out new roots and sometimes vertical stems. Over time (a long time) the central trunk may die off leaving a ring of younger yews around it – each of these newer trees will be a clone of the original.

Yews are dioecious, that is individual plants carry either male or female flowers, but not both. (By contrast monoecious plants have both male and female flowers). At this time of year female yews appear to be covered in bright red berries. These are not actually berries, but are seeds surrounded by a gelatinous layer known as an aril. The aril itself is edible and sweet-tasting, but it’s probably not a good idea to eat it, as the seed inside is highly toxic, as is pretty much every other part of the tree. Several species of bird eat the arils, the seeds passing through undigested. This process helps to disperse the yew seeds throughout the countryside.

Perhaps unsurprisingly yews feature quite heavily in folklore. The tree was sacred to the druids in pre-Christian times. In fact, yours truly once had to rearrange a guided walk to the Ormiston yew since it would have clashed with a druidic ceremony being held there. I think this is probably the only time that the rangers have had to change an event’s timing due to druids. Yews are often found planted in graveyards and several reasons have been put forward for this. It may be related to the longevity of the tree, which could be seen to represent immortality, or perhaps its toxic nature led to it being associated with death. A more prosaic reason could be that its toxicity was used to discourage farmers from allowing their livestock to graze in burial grounds. It’s also quite possible that some of these trees were in existence long before the churches were built next to them.