When someone dies, many of us find ourselves drawn to nature. A walk along a path they loved or a quiet corner of a churchyard can feel like a place to remember them.
Across Britain and northern Europe, trees have gathered stories about death, grief and the world beyond over centuries. Some trees were seen as guardians of the dead, others were treated with caution, or even fear.
Here's a look at the folklore behind some of our most familiar trees.
Why are trees linked with death and remembrance?
Trees outlive us. Some stand for hundreds or even thousands of years, so it's no surprise that people saw them as links between generations.
Trees also follow the seasons. They lose their leaves, seem to die in winter and return in spring. For many cultures, this cycle became a way to think about loss, memory and renewal.
Many of the stories below are folklore rather than fact. But they show how deeply people have always wanted to understand death, and to find comfort in the world around them.
Yew: the tree of the dead
If one tree belongs to the churchyard, it's the yew. There are at least 500 churchyards in England with yew trees older than the church buildings themselves. Its link with burial grounds has earned it the nickname "tree of the dead".
Yews can live for an extraordinary length of time. The Woodland Trust suggests some may reach 3,000 years, though around 1,500 years is more typical. Ageing them is difficult, because old yews often become hollow and lose their growth rings. Scotland's Fortingall Yew is often estimated at between 2,000 and 5,000 years old.
Because it stays green all year, the yew came to symbolise everlasting life. For the ancient Celts, it represented death and rebirth, and this meaning carried on into Christian times. People carried yew branches at funerals for many centuries, and the dead were sometimes buried beneath yews for protection.
Nobody knows for certain why so many yews grow in churchyards. Some say they were planted to protect and purify the dead, others think it was practical because yew is poisonous to livestock, so a walled churchyard kept it away from grazing animals.
Willow: a tree of mourning
With its long, drooping branches, the weeping willow looks as though it's grieving. That image made it one of the best-known symbols of mourning.
In the 18th and 19th centuries, the willow appeared again and again on memorials. Georgian mourning brooches often showed a willow bending over a funeral urn. In Britain and America, mourning embroidery featured grieving figures beside a tomb under a willow, and carvers added willows to gravestones.
There's an old English phrase, too: to "wear the willow". It usually meant grieving for a lost love, but it could also mean mourning someone who had died. Shakespeare used it, and so did other writers and ballads of the time.
Willows grow at the water's edge, with their roots in the river and their branches in the air. In some Celtic-inspired traditions, this place between land and water makes the willow a tree of the in-between, linked with crossing from one world to another.
Alder: the tree that bleeds
The alder also loves water, and it holds one of the most striking pieces of tree folklore. When you cut alder, its pale wood turns a deep orange-red soon after it is cut. To people in the past, it looked as though the tree was bleeding.
Not surprisingly, this made people wary. Many feared alder trees, and in Ireland it was thought unlucky to pass one on a journey. The alder's wood has another unusual quality: instead of rotting in water, it becomes almost as hard as stone. Much of Venice stands on alder piles.
The alder also appears in Welsh myth. In the medieval poem Cad Goddeu, or The Battle of the Trees, a warrior is recognised as Bran by the alder branch he carries. In the Mabinogion, Bran's young nephew is called Gwern, which means "alder".
The alder even has a ghostly figure named after it. In German, the word for alder is Erle. Goethe’s famous poem Erlkönig, meaning “The Alder King”, tells of a spirit who comes for a child. The name is thought to come from a mistranslation. In the 1770s, the poet Herder translated the Danish word for “elf king” into German as “alder king”, and the name stuck.
Ash: the world tree of Norse myth
In Norse mythology, the whole universe grew around a giant ash tree called Yggdrasil. Its branches and roots held together nine different worlds, from the home of the gods to the land of the dead.
Yggdrasil had three great roots. One of the old Norse poems says that Hel, the realm of the dead, lies beneath one of them. Three figures called the Norns lived by a well at the tree's base. They watered it every day so it would never wither, and they shaped the fate of gods and people.
The old texts call Yggdrasil an ash, though some scholars have wondered whether it was really a yew. Either way, it's a powerful idea: a single living tree connecting life, death and everything in between.
Elder, rowan and hawthorn: trees to treat with care
Some trees weren't linked with death so much as with the spirit world. People believed it was wise to treat them with respect.
Elder
Folklore says a spirit called the Elder Mother lived inside the elder tree. If you wanted to cut any of its wood, you were meant to ask her permission first, or bad luck would follow. Elder wood was never used for a baby's cradle, as people feared the fairies would trouble the child.
Rowan
The rowan, with its bright red berries, was a tree of protection. In Ireland, people planted rowans outside their homes to keep evil spirits away. For the same reason, rowans were often grown in or near churchyards, especially in Wales.
Hawthorn
Across Britain, people believed that bringing hawthorn blossom indoors would lead to illness or death. There may be a real reason behind this. Hawthorn flowers contain a chemical called trimethylamine, which also forms as a body decays.
In the past, people often kept the body of someone who had died at home for several days before the funeral. They would have known that smell, so it's easy to see why hawthorn blossom wasn't welcome inside.
Samhain, All Souls and the turning of the year
Autumn has long been a time for thinking about those who have died. In Irish folklore, the veil between our world and the next was said to grow thin around Samhain, the festival marking the start of winter.
Today's Halloween is often said to come straight from Samhain, but historians think the link is less direct than that. Halloween grew mostly from Hallowtide, the Christian days of All Hallows' Eve, All Saints' Day and All Souls' Day on 2 November. All Souls' Day is still a day when many people pause to remember loved ones.
As the leaves fall, it's easy to see why this season has always felt close to memory and loss.
How trees help us remember today
Trees still play a part in how we say goodbye. You might choose to plant a tree in someone's memory, so you have a living place to return to in the years ahead. Or you might visit a woodland, park or riverside that meant a lot to them.
Some people scatter ashes beneath a favourite tree or in a peaceful woodland. If the land isn't yours, you'll need the landowner's permission first. Our article on how and where to scatter ashes in the UK explains what to check before you go.
If you're looking for more ways to honour someone, you might find ideas in our guide to memorial ideas, or in our article on what to do with the ashes.
Frequently asked questions
Which tree is most associated with death?
In Britain, the yew is the tree most closely linked with death. It grows in many old churchyards and is sometimes called the "tree of the dead". Because it's evergreen and very long-lived, it also stands for everlasting life.
Why are yew trees planted in churchyards?
No one knows for sure. Popular theories include protecting and purifying the dead, and keeping poisonous yew away from grazing livestock. Some churchyard yews are even older than the churches that stand beside them.
Why does alder wood look like it's bleeding?
Living alder wood is pale, but it turns a deep orange-red soon after it's cut. People in the past saw this as the tree bleeding, which led to many superstitions about it.
What does a weeping willow symbolise?
The weeping willow is a symbol of grief and mourning. Its drooping branches look like a figure bowed in sorrow, which is why it appeared on gravestones, mourning jewellery and memorial embroidery in the 18th and 19th centuries.
Can I scatter ashes under a tree?
Yes, you can, as long as you have permission. If you own the land, you can go ahead. If you don't, you'll need to ask the landowner, whether that's a local council, an estate or a farmer.
We're here if you need us
If someone close to you has died, or you'd like to talk through your options, our caring team is here to help. Call us free, anytime, on 0800 160 18 81.
