Trees! Big ones.

[davejsy]

I just read this great article that may be of interest to anyone walking the Primitivo and likes trees, especially big old ones with history as some of them are on the Primitivo (Salas, Tineo etc).

Árboles monumentales y singulares de Asturias: una excusa para recorrer el Principado | El Comercio: Diario de Asturias

Ya sea en coche o a través de las muchas rutas de senderismo con las que cuenta Asturias, los árboles monumentales y singulares son una buena razón para moverse por la re

www.elcomercio.es

One cool thing I learned is many of the old churches were built next to yew trees, as they were considered sacred by the Celts.

 

[Bradypus]

One cool thing I learned is many of the old churches were built next to yew trees, as they were considered sacred by the Celts.

There is a very long and rich mythology attached to yew trees in the UK. In part because they can be extremely old. In Scotland there is a famous yew tree in Fortingall in Perthshire. Local legend claims that Pontius Pilate was born under it!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

I noticed, especially in Italy, that churches often had an ancient olive tree twisted and gnarled growing in the front "yard" of the property. The Bible has some references to olive trees and branches.
Here are a couple I found online...

 

[Bill905]

Eauze, along the Via Podiensis May 2023

I like to explore local culture, and a couple of years ago while in Eauze, we toured a winery/distiller of Armagnac, and yes, we had several samples!

While there, I noticed a huge tree in the farmyard. I asked the owner how old it was. He said it was an oak, about 600 or 700 years old. Doing some quick math I realized it had sprouted before Columbus sailed the ocean blue!

 

[mikeatspokes]

I just loved this gnarled old tree on the walk into Triacastela

 

[VNwalking]

Thank you, so wonderful to have this information.

For the most adventurous among the adventurous, there's a grove of millennial Yews on an alternative route near the Viejo, between Trespaderne and Quintana de Valdivielso.

Here's a description of it from:

Ruta de senderismo: Los Tejos de Panizares y Los Tartalés​

Importante: dada la sensibilidad del enclave de los Tejos de Panizares recomiendo: - Ir en pequeños grupos. - Intentar pisar lo menos p...

tierrasdeburgos.blogspot.com

Descendemos un poco y entramos en la espesura de la Tejeda de Panizares (que en realidad es de Trespaderne). Tenemos más de una veintena de centenarios y evocadores tejos, pero esta empinada ladera ofrece una gran variedad de arboles: tilos, robles, madroños, hayas... A medida que vamos descendiendo observamos un tejo retorcido tras otro, formando rincones inolvidables

 

[davejsy]

I just loved this gnarled old tree on the walk into Triacastela
View attachment 183505

Snap!

 

[Camino Chrissy]

@davejsy, there was another "tree thread" recently focusing on huge old trees and a few of us posted the same tree as you...snap!

 

[Paladina]

One cool thing I learned is many of the old churches were built next to yew trees, as they were considered sacred by the Celts.

Yew berries are highly toxic to livestock. The practical reason for planting yews in churchyards is to keep them out of bounds to cattle and, of course, scrumping children.

 

[Kathor1]

I often read about a topic on Wikipedia in various languages. In this case, as to the yew tree and it being planted in or near cemeteries, there are different reasons given in the various language articles. The English and also the French version say that it had to do, or might have to do, with the tree's toxicity and keeping it away from cattle who get poisoned if they eat the whole fruit or the leaves/needles. This reason appears to be absent in the German and Spanish versions where the emphasis is put on the longevity of the yew tree and its connection with death and immortality. In Spanish for example:

[...] Celtic peoples venerated the yew tree since it was part of rituals and was considered a sacred tree, probably due to the extraordinary longevity of the plant, which makes it look immortal. For this same reason in Spain it has been planted profusely in the Cantabrian region in the vicinity of hermitages, churches and cemeteries since ancient times, as a symbol of the transcendence of death; it was common to find a yew in the squares of the villages under which the open council was held. All this has perpetuated the halo of mystery and sacredness that surrounds this species.​

​

I've always associated yew trees in monastery gardens and cemeteries with the idea of eternity.

And has anybody already mentioned Agincourt and the longbow? The DE article says that in 1568, a local duke informed the Imperial Council (in Germany) that there were no more yew trees mature enough for felling in the whole of Bavaria; the reason for this was that English longbows were made from yew wood and thousands of these trees were shipped from Nuremberg to Antwerp - an export hit in its time but also causing ecological damage . The ES article says that the English imported yew wood mainly from Italy, but also from France and Spain to make their longbows. Apparently the continentally grown yew wood was less gnarly than that grown in England.

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Yew was ideal for making longbows because you got a natural lamination with the tree's heartwood and sapwood.

YouTube video id: OfrkiAAp8tM

 

[J.Patrick]

Thank you for bringing this article to our attention. What treasures!!!

If you have a passion for old big trees, open this picture of California coastal redwoods, as large as you can. I took this 3 months ago. These are the world’s tallest trees, in extraordinarily beautiful forests that deserve inclusion on lifetime bucket lists.

Way down low, a little right of center, is a person standing at the very bottom of the picture, just to give you perspective.

What joy, no?

 

[Kirkie]

There is a very long and rich mythology attached to yew trees in the UK. In part because they can be extremely old. In Scotland there is a famous yew tree in Fortingall in Perthshire. Local legend claims that Pontius Pilate was born under it!

i couldn’t resist, so looked up, and found Fortingall Yew on Wiki. How on earth did Pontius Pilate’s mammy get there to give birth to him?
Please note, I am not doubting the local legend: well, maybe I am! something to discover if and when...
They certainly are popular around graveyards allright.

 

[Bradypus]

i couldn’t resist, so looked up, and found Fortingall Yew on Wiki. How on earth did Pontius Pilate’s mammy get there to give birth to him?

The Roman legions got a good bit further north than that. But not until a long time after PP was born. So probably not true. But the legend gave birth to another piece of trivia. The Black Watch was for a time the oldest infantry regiment in the British Army. Originally from Perthshire. So they were nicknamed "Pontius Pilate's Bodyguard"

 

[Rick of Rick and Peg]

Yggdrasil - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org

 

[mattythedog]

i couldn’t resist, so looked up, and found Fortingall Yew on Wiki. How on earth did Pontius Pilate’s mammy get there to give birth to him?
Please note, I am not doubting the local legend: well, maybe I am! something to discover if and when...
They certainly are popular around graveyards allright.

Maybe she was born under the U2.

 

[davejsy]

For this same reason in Spain it has been planted profusely in the Cantabrian region in the vicinity of hermitages, churches and cemeteries since ancient times, as a symbol of the transcendence of death;

I love this. The Spanish are so much more romantic than the Brits!

 

[davejsy]

Thank you for bringing this article to our attention. What treasures!!!

If you have a passion for old big trees, open this picture of California coastal redwoods, as large as you can. I took this 3 months ago. These are the world’s tallest trees, in extraordinarily beautiful forests that deserve inclusion on lifetime bucket lists.

Way down low, a little right of center, is a person standing at the very bottom of the picture, just to give you perspective.

What joy, no?

On the subject of beautiful redwoods - has anyone been lucky enough to visit the Bosque de Sequoias in Cantabria near Cabezón de Sal? It's a beautiful place with raised walkways in places through this truly unique forest in Spain, I think originally they were planted during the time of Franco to reduce dependence on imports. It would be an easy excursion from the Norte for anyone who wanted to see it. I would avoid busy times as with many places like this in Spain.

 

[davejsy]

@davejsy, there was another "tree thread" recently focusing on huge old trees and a few of us posted the same tree as you...snap!
View attachment 183514

Haha yes is this the most famous tree on the CF?

 

[VNwalking]

Back to Spain, there's a fantastic website that will show old trees in your vicinity:

Monumental trees in Spain

www.monumentaltrees.com

The Chestnut in Tracastella is there, of course. As is a Walnut nearby that appears to have died.

Haha yes is this the most famous tree on the CF?

Likely. There was an old oak who used to be near Rabinal, but sadly it died too, in a storm.

For this same reason in Spain it has been planted profusely in the Cantabrian region in the vicinity of hermitages, churches and cemeteries since ancient times

The grove of very old yews near Trespaderne is in an area where there were once hermitage. I wonder if there's a connection.

 

[Pelegrin]

Back to Spain, there's a fantastic website that will show old trees in your vicinity:

Monumental trees in Spain

www.monumentaltrees.com

The Chestnut in Tracastella is there, of course. As is a Walnut nearby that appears to have died.


Likely. There was an old oak who used to be near Rabinal, but sadly it died too, in a storm.


The grove of very old yews near Trespaderne is in an area where there were once hermitage. I wonder if there's a connection.

Not included on the lists " Tejo de Barondillo (or Valhondillo)" 1500 to 2000 years and four meters diameter, Rascafria municipality ( Sierra de Madrid).

 

[Sue127]

I just loved this gnarled old tree on the walk into Triacastela
View attachment 183505

I think many of us have the same photo, beautiful example