The Fortingall Yew is an ancient yew (Taxus baccata) in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. Various estimates have put its age at between 2,000 and 5,000 years; recent research into yew tree ages12 suggests that it is likely to be nearer the lower limit of 2,000 years. This still makes it the oldest known tree in Europe,3 although there is an older Norwegian spruce root system.4
The yew's once massive trunk (16 metres, or 52 feet in girth in 1769, of unknown original height) is split into several separate stems, giving the impression of several smaller trees. This is a result of the cutting out of pieces of its wood as tourist trinkets in the nineteenth century and the natural decay of the ancient heartwood, which has reduced the centre of the trunk down to ground level. Other than this the tree is still in good health and may last for many more centuries. It is now protected by a low wall but can still be easily viewed.
The area immediately surrounding Fortingall has a variety of prehistoric archaeological sites including Carn na Marbh, a Bronze Agetumulus.
According to legend, Pontius Pilate was born in its shade and played there as a child.5
