Britain's oldest tree is 'undergoing a sex change'

YEREVAN, NOVEMBER 3, ARMENPRESS. The oldest tree in Britain is undergoing a sex change after 5,000 years, according to botanists. “Armenpress” reports the aforementioned referring to the Independent.

Perthshire’s Fortingall Yew, estimated to be around 5,000 years old making it older than Stonehenge, is considered male as it produces pollen, as opposed to female yews which bear red seed-holding berries.

However, botanists were shocked when “three ripe red berries” were spotted on one of the ancient yew’s branches this year, suggesting at least part of the tree had become female.

Max Coleman, of the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh who discovered the berries, said it was “quite a surprise to me to find a group of three ripe red berries on the Fortingall Yew when the rest of the tree was clearly male.”

“Odd as it may seem, yews, and many other conifers that have separate sexes, have been observed to switch sex,” Mr Coleman added.

“Normally this switch occurs on part of the crown rather than the entire tree changing sex.

“In the Fortingall Yew it seems that one small branch in the outer part of the crown has switched and now behaves as female.”

Photo by geograph.org.uk