This is the Fortingall Yew. The tree is *very* old.
According to legend, Pontius Pilate was born in the shade of the tree and used to play there, when a child.
The yew is at least 3,000 years old, and may be as much as 9,000 years old. If so, it would make it the oldest tree in Europe.
Hat tip to @Bella for reminding me about old trees:
@edavies
I've no idea, but, a quick Internet search returned this:
https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0255792
@fitheach
So Pontius Pilate was Scottish?😁
@pandora
According to the legend he was Scottish. Roman, but, Scottish.
I always thought he got a bad press from the main Christian churches here. However, I note from his WP article that he is venerated as a saint by the Ethiopian & Coptic Churches.
@fitheach Oh! It is GORGEOUS!!!
@Bella
The yew isn't very tall, but, is very wide. It also has several trunks. I didn't photograph the trunks, as it was very dark under the extensive foliage.
I wonder if his mum used to tell the young Pontius Pilate to "go wash your hands" after he was playing around the tree. 😃