Yew

A yew tree 'Taxus Baccata" in the garden of the flats in Cirencester's Abbey Grounds. The strong connection between churches and yew trees is fascinating. They have quite possibly been associated with religious sites since even before the Christian era. Nor is the association limited to Britain. There is a similar link between the yew and religious sites in Asturias in Northern Spain as well. Asturias has a dozen or so protected yews, including one that is possibly the oldest known as "Teixu l'Iglesia" (church yew), which as the name suggests is located next to a church. This blog from Asturias Amigos del Texu (Friends of the Yew) is all about yew trees.