Scottish Gaelic Tree Alphabet Series - Single #4 of 13

Please note: This is track #6 on the new album THE WOODS - the full 21 track album will be released on 20th March (the Spring Equinox) and is available now for pre-order.

For the oak and the holly. Oak is represented by letter 'D' in the Scottish Gaelic alphabet, while 'T' is used for 'Holly'. There are strong connections between the two trees.

'D' is for DAIR [Dahr] Oak, darach, aik.
- Sessile oak, darach-neo-ghasagach, Quercus petraea.
- Pedunculate oak, English oak, darach-gasagach, furran, Quercus robur.

'T' is for TEINE [Che-nuh] Holly, cuileann, Craobh-chuilinn, holene, holyn, Ilex aquifolium.

Oak is the great monarch of the woods. It can live for eight centuries, its trunk reaching a mighty 10m in girth, 30m in height with a sprawling canopy that can grow as wide as it is tall. The upper canopy is instantly recognisable with its long sturdy branches and busy, chaotic foliage. There are two common types of oak, pedunculate (named after the long ~5cm stalks holding the acorns) and sessile where the acorns are stalkless. Compared to the pedunculate, the sessile has straighter branches, a more upright trunk, longer leaf stalk and leaves with less-pronounced ‘earlobes’. ‘Cups and ladles’ are the husks of an acorn, so named for their resemblance to these utensils. The tough and durable timber was highly sought after by shipbuilders. The oldest boat ever found in Scotland was a 3000-year-old dugout canoe made of oak. The wood was used extensively for construction, frames, beams and roofs. The roof of Stirling Castle was made from 200 oak trees. Oaks were sacred to the druids and it is thought that the Celtic word druid translates as ‘men of oak’. Oak groves were places for important gatherings and sacrifices and the burial places of heroes. Doors are often made of oak. The names door, duir and darach all stem from the same root. Oaks are abundant in the Atlantic Woods of the West of Scotland, but less common in the Cairngorms. They are occasionally found on the south-facing slopes of sheltered Highland glens and where the soil is richer. The oak woods at Loch Pityoulish are well worth a visit. At one time it was thought that oaks were not native to the Highlands but the discovery of many ancient oak trunks, deep in Highland peat bogs, proves their existence in the early arboreal landscape. Like Scots pine, oak is a ‘keystone species’, supporting a huge number of mosses, insects (200+), birds and more lichens than on any other native tree.

Holly is often found as a bush in old oak woods. It grows slowly and over hundreds of years can develop into an impressive 20m tree. The wood is very dense and non-resinous and was used for the hubs of cartwheels and for carving intricate chess pieces. Holly is associated with Taranis and Thor, the Celtic and Norse gods of thunder. While oak is the most likely tree to be destroyed by a lightning strike, holly is the most likely to survive it. The spines on the leaves act as miniature lightning conductors that channel lightning into the ground more directly than most trees, minimising injury to the tree and safeguarding any objects nearby. For this reason Highlanders used to plant holly near their houses and castles. The Gaelic name ‘cuileann’ has its root in ‘cul’, to guard or defend. Highlanders also brought holly leaves into their homes to protect them from evil and the supernatural. This track culminates in a battle between the mythical Oak King and Holly King of folklore. The lords were said to overpower one another at the solstices, with Oak dominating the summer and Holly, the winter.