Somewhere between 2,000 and 3,000 years ago and possibly much earlier, a single seed from a yew berry germinated in what would eventually become the village of Fortingall in Perthshire. That tree, gnarled and twisted into magical shapes, is still there, probably the oldest living thing in Britain.
Nearby archaeological sites suggest the tree may have been the focus of an Iron Age cult. According to local legend, Pontius Pilate, the Roman governor who oversaw the crucifixion of Jesus, was born in its shade and played there as a child. By 1769, its girth measured 52 feet.
No one knows just how long the Fortingall Yew has been growing because the heartwood rings that could establish its age have gone, replaced by separated stems. Some
