What is conceivably Europe’s oldest living thing is looking a bit green around the edges.
But that is a good thing, and much to the relief of those charged with its care.
Because when the Fortingall Yew in Scotland produces young, fresh leaves, it means it’s adding another year to the thousands it has already been on this earth.
About 5,000, to be precise. A sapling when Stonehenge was created, 3,000 years old when the Romans came to Britain, a survivor from Pyramids to iPod.
The public is being asked to help the Woodland Trust charity create a map of the UK’s ancient woodlands.
“We are aware that it’s a great responsibility” says Dr Gordon Stark, the session clerk at Fortingall Kirk.
“There’s a very large bit of the circumference missing. It once stood 56ft in diameter, but souvenir hunters and young men who used to hold bonfires inside the hollow tree have all taken their toll.
“It’s now got only a few bits left, but they are still alive and sprouting”
From the BBC. More on the yew.
NB: But not the world’s biggest, that’s probably El Arbol of El Tule, Oaxaca, Mexico.