Craigends Yew

[4] Layering yews differ from the standard growth form in that their branches grow in a pendulous fashion and upon contacting the soil level they root, a process called 'layering' and they may also send up new vertical stems.

[2][3] The tree has a number of epiphytes such as ferns, ivy, liverworts, lichens and mosses that are encouraged by the high humidity maintained by the leaf cover of this evergreen species, supplemented by occasional flooding by the river.

It has been subjected to a degree of vandalism in the past, but in 2018 a conservation programme removed several trees from within the grove to reduce shading and cleared much of the surrounding scrub vegetation to improve access.

The tree grove is in good health and has space to expand further on two sides as a housing estate fence confines it to the east and the River Gryffe does so to the north.

Other examples of ancient layering yews can be found at Ormiston, Traquair House, Whittingehame and Broich, near Kippen.