The Defynnog Yew (Welsh : Ywen Defynnog) (SN9253027960) is one of a group of ancient yews ( Taxus baccata ) in the churchyard of St Cynog's Church, which serves the parish and the village of Defynnog, Powys, Wales. Defynnog is located close to Sennybridge, about ten miles west of Brecon, within the Brecon Beacons National Park (Bannau Brycheiniog).
This group of four ancient yews lies within the churchyard, the oldest aged by one assessment at 3,018 years. [1] It grows from a mound measuring 8 m (26 ft) across and 1 m (3 ft 3 in) high, and forms nine distinct stems that grow from a base which has an overall circumference of 11 m (36 ft). The second yew growing on the north side of the church lies 5 m (16 ft) to its west. Although shown to be genetically identical, [2] such a distance makes it highly unlikely that they are fragments of what was once a single tree. The second yew has possibly layered from a pendulous branch (see video) of the larger one; yews quite often layer from branches which are able to touch the ground and then develop roots. [1] An Iron Age date is suggested from the available dendrochronology and growth rate studies indicating that the yews are more probably around 2,500 years. [1]
In 2005 a single male branch was found to be growing on the largest of the two female trees. Yew trees are usually only a single sex, that is dioecious, requiring two trees of different sex to interact to produce seed, however it is not uncommon for trees to be both sexes monoecious. [3] A small area of the smaller tree has a growth of albino white leaves. [4] Both trees have unusually extensive epicormic shoot growth coating the trunks in green leaves, a process that usually only occurs after physical damage to the bark or increased light levels.
As stated, the two trees lying to the north of the church are a genetically identical pair. [5] [3] This is not thought to be because of fragmentation with the section between rotting away; layering is a definite possibility, [3] and a lightning strike causing the tree to split into two is a very remote possibility. [3] [6] Pendulous yews with long horizontal branches that eventually touch the ground and root are well documented, e.g. the Craigends Yew in Scotland. The two yews on the south side of the church are not genetically identical to those on the north side or to each other. [3]
The trees have a number of epiphytes such as ferns, ivy, liverworts, lichens and mosses that are encouraged by the high humidity maintained by the leaf cover of this evergreen species.
This yew tree or trees stands in the churchyard of St Cynog's Church. It is very hard to accurately determine the age of yew trees [7] [8] and a nearby café and gift shop holds a certificate of 2002 from the Yew Tree Campaign, signed by David Bellamy, which states that "according to all the data we have to hand" the tree is dated to approximately 5,000 years old". David Bellamy used the same methods as he did when establishing the age of the Tisbury Yew in Wiltshire, including radiocarbon dating. [9]
The date on this certificate would the Defynnog Yew potentially even older than Scotland's well-known Fortingall Yew. An investigation into its age does not support this view. [3] It is considered more likely that the two yew trees are in the order of two to three thousand years old. [10]
Wales has 407 ancient or veteran yews that are more than 500 years old, while England has 978. France has 77 while Germany and Spain have just four each. [11]
The local church, Grade I listed building dedicated to Saint Cynog, is mainly Norman in date, [12] but the porch houses an ancient stone with Latin and ogham inscriptions. The Defynnog Yew predates the church and may have been planted to mark a meeting place or a place of burial as suggested by the above-mentioned burial stone. [13] Cynog is thought to have been the son of Saint Brychan, a Welsh prince of the British Dark Ages.
Graves have been dug between the two yew trees and the trees have each been surrounded at some date by low decorative stone walling.
Yews are native to Wales and being extremely poisonous to stock and humans many have been dug up or planted within stock-proof enclosures such as churchyards where they commonly occur. The yew's wood is traditionally used to make longbows and the generic name 'Taxus' refers to the wood's connection to the sport of archery, namely toxophily.
Taxus is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. Yews occur around the globe in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, northernmost in Norway and southernmost in the South Celebes. Some populations exist in tropical highlands.
Taxus baccata is a species of evergreen tree in the family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, northern Iran, and Southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be referred to as common yew, European yew, or in North America English yew. It is a woodland tree in its native range, and is also grown as an ornamental tree, hedge or topiary. The plant is poisonous, with toxins that can be absorbed through inhalation, ingestion, and transpiration through the skin. Consuming any part of the tree, excluding the aril, can be deadly and the consumption of even a small amount of the foliage can result in death.
In Christian countries a churchyard is a patch of land adjoining or surrounding a church, which is usually owned by the relevant church or local parish itself. In the Scots language and in both Scottish English and Ulster Scots, this can also be known as a kirkyard.
The Fortingall Yew is an ancient European yew in the churchyard of the village of Fortingall in Perthshire, Scotland. Considered one of the oldest trees in Britain, modern estimates place its age at an average of 5,000 years.
Fortingall is a small village in Glen Lyon, Perthshire, Scotland. Its nearest sizable neighbours are Aberfeldy and Kenmore.
Methuselah is a 4,856-year-old Great Basin bristlecone pine tree growing high in the White Mountains of Inyo County in eastern California. It is recognized as the non-clonal tree with the greatest confirmed age in the world. Its old age is a result of harsh weather and a lack of nutrients, which slow down the decaying process. The tree's name refers to the biblical patriarch Methuselah, who is said to have reached 969 years of age before his death, thus becoming synonymous with longevity or old age in many European languages including English.
Situated under the ramparts of Dolforwyn Castle, near Abermule in the Welsh county of Powys in the United Kingdom, Yew tree cottage is a part 17th century timber-framed structure which once belonged to the celebrated antiquarian John Davies Knatchbull Lloyd.
The Ankerwycke Yew is an ancient yew tree close to the ruins of St Mary's Priory, the site of a Benedictine nunnery built in the 12th century, near Wraysbury in Berkshire, England. It is a male tree with a girth of 8 metres (26 ft) at 0.3 metres. The tree is at least 1,400 years old, and could be as old as 2,500 years.
The Llangernyw Yew ( ) is an ancient yew in the village of Llangernyw, Conwy, Wales. The tree is fragmented and its core part has been lost, leaving several enormous offshoots. The girth of the tree at the ground level is 10.75 m (35.3 ft).
The Florence Court Yew is the surviving specimen of the two original Irish yew seedlings. As such, it is the oldest Irish yew alive and it is believed that almost all Irish yews worldwide descend from this specimen. It is located in Florence Court demesne in County Fermanagh, Northern Ireland and is cared for by the National Trust.
Cynog son of Brychan, also known as Saint Cynog or Canog, was an early Welsh saint and martyr. His shrine is at Merthyr Cynog in Wales and his feast day is observed on 7 or 9 October. In Ireland he is known as St. Mocheanog
Defynnog,, is a small village in the community of Maescar in the historic county of Brecknockshire, Wales, now lying within the unitary authority area of Powys. It lies immediately south of Sennybridge and about ten miles west of Brecon within the Brecon Beacons National Park.
The Church of St John the Baptist is a Church of England parish church in Ashbrittle, Somerset. It was built in the 15th century, and is a Grade II* listed building.
The Craigends Yew (NS4199566134) is an ancient European layering yew growing next to the River Gryffe in what were the grounds of the Craigends Estate, Houston in Renfrewshire, Scotland. Estimates put its age at around 500 to 700 years old and it is one of the largest and oldest examples of a heritage layering yew in Scotland.
Millennium yews were planted in 2000 as part of a joint scheme between the Church of England and the Conservation Foundation, UK to celebrate the end of the 2nd millennium. The church promised a cutting, taken from some of the yews in its churchyards that are more than 2,000 years old, to any parish that wanted one. It expected to distribute a few hundred but by the end of 2000 had distributed 8,000. The project helped raise awareness of environmental issues within the church and provided a large collection of yew trees of known provenance.
The Ashbrittle Yew is an ancient yew tree located in the village of Ashbrittle, Somerset, in southwest England. The yew grows on a tumulus in the south-east end of the churchyard of St. John the Baptist. Yews are capable of living for several thousands of years; the Ashbrittle Yew itself is believed to be over 3,000 years old, but defining its precise age is difficult due to its hollow centre. The tree is formed of a hollow central trunk surrounded by six narrower boles. In 2015 its measured diameter was 39'11".
St Cynog's Church is an active parish church in the village of Defynnog, Powys, Wales. The dedication is to Saint Cynog, one of the 24 children of Brychan, a legendary 5th-century king of Brycheiniog. Dating from the 15th century, with earlier elements, the church was restored in the late 19th century. The churchyard is notable for its collection of ancient yew trees, the Defynnog Yew which is among the oldest in Britain. St Cynog's is designated by Cadw as a Grade I listed building.