The Last Ent of Affric is an ancient

elm Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of North ...

in the

Scottish Highlands The Highlands ( sco, the Hielands; gd, a’ Ghàidhealtachd , 'the place of the Gaels') is a historical region of Scotland. Culturally, the Highlands and the Lowlands diverged from the Late Middle Ages into the modern period, when Lowland Sco ...

, designated a Tree of National Special Interest (TNSI) by the

Woodland Trust The Woodland Trust is the largest woodland conservation charity in the United Kingdom and is concerned with the creation, protection, and restoration of native woodland Natural heritage, heritage. It has planted over 50 million trees since 1972 ...

and named Scotland's Tree of the Year in 2019. It is probably the last surviving tree of an ancient forest, and by virtue of its isolation has remained safe from

Dutch elm disease Dutch elm disease (DED) is caused by a member of the sac fungi (Ascomycota) affecting elm trees, and is spread by elm bark beetles. Although believed to be originally native to Asia, the disease was accidentally introduced into Americas, America ...

History and description

The 'Last

Ent Ents are a species of beings in J. R. R. Tolkien's fantasy world Middle-earth who closely resemble trees; their leader is Treebeard of Fangorn forest. Their name is derived from an Old English word for giant. The Ents appear in ''The Lord of ...

of Affric' is a centuries-old

Wych elm ''Ulmus glabra'' Hudson, the wych elm or Scots elm, has the widest range of the European elm species, from Ireland eastwards to the Urals, and from the Arctic Circle south to the mountains of the Peloponnese and Sicily, where the species reaches i ...

(Ulmus glabra), named in reference to the tree-creatures of

J.R.R. Tolkien John Ronald Reuel Tolkien (, ; 3 January 1892 – 2 September 1973) was an English writer and philologist. He was the author of the high fantasy works ''The Hobbit'' and ''The Lord of the Rings''. From 1925 to 1945, Tolkien was the Rawlins ...

's ''Lord of the Rings''. Giles Brockman of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS), who nominated the tree for the Tree of the Year Award 2019, said:

Given its location, its isolation - and its peculiar 'face' - it's very easy to imagine it as one of Tolkien's Ents standing sentinel over the rebirth of a new native woodland in Affric.

It has a girth of 3.80m at a height of 1.50m. It is located in Glean nan Ciche, a side spur off

Glen Affric Glen Affric ( gd, Gleann Afraig) is a glen south-west of the village of Cannich in the Highland region of Scotland, some west of Loch Ness. The River Affric runs along its length, passing through Loch Affric and Loch Beinn a' Mheadhoin. A minor ...

in the Highlands of Scotland. The Last Ent's exact age is uncertain, but its diameter suggests it is many centuries old. Given its unusual location, and isolation, it is supposed to be the single surviving tree of ancient forest. Brockman said:

The Last Ent is growing on the rocky outflow of a mountain stream, not a place where you would choose to plant a tree, there being little soil under the moss that covers the rocks. So this must be a survivor of a forest long departed, a sentinel watching over the new native woodland growing on the slopes below.

Discovery of owl pellets among the roots of the tree suggests that it is home to a roost of owls.

Tree of the Year

In 2019, The Last Ent of Affric was named as Scotland's Tree of the Year, following nomination by Giles Brockman of Forestry and Land Scotland (FLS). Brockman had launched a campaign to recognise the elm, which he described as "a hidden mystery of Glen Affric." It was one of six finalists, selected from public nominations, and subsequently won an online public vote. Following its becoming Tree of the Year, the Last Ent of Affric was adopted as a figurehead of efforts to fight Dutch elm disease. Dr. Euan Bowditch, from the Wooded Landscapes Research Group at Inverness College UHI, noted the significance of educating the public on the ongoing presence of healthy elms - and the need to protect them - in the face of the Dutch elm disease threat. He noted:

The public perception of elm is probably quite defeatist. Many people might not realise that healthy elms exist, grow and regenerate. I think it is important to emphasise that elms are not lost to our landscape.

Dutch elm disease is spread by beetles, aided by the movement of infected wood. As such, the campaign to halt its spread in Scotland and the Highlands focuses on limiting the movement of this wood, to protect remaining elms.

References

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External links

The Last Ent of Affric
at the Ancient Tree Inventory,

Individual trees in Scotland Trees of the United Kingdom Individual elm trees

History and description

Tree of the Year

See also

References

External links