Sacred plants and trees around the world

Some trees and plants from far‑flung lands, from the baobab to our venerable oak, have been regarded as sacred for millennia. Peoples from different regions have chosen certain members of the world’s flora for their spiritual significance or the legends they tell. To this day they continue to attach powerful symbolism to them.
Why? Which trees and plants are these mythical specimens adored by so many cultures? I suggest discovering a few on each continent, among the most emblematic on our planet.

Le Ginkgo biloba

This tree with its unique, bilobed foliage, like thousands of tiny fans, and its sublime golden autumn colours, is one of Asia’s emblematic sacred trees. Long before Hiroshima — which made it famous worldwide for surviving the blast — this symbol of resilience was known in Japan for its exceptional longevity, even its apparent immortality. It is said that Ginkgo biloba can live for more than 1,000 years. Some ginkgos in Asia have even been dated to nearly 800 years, a record for this “fossil” tree and sole representative of its botanical family, the Ginkgoaceae.
It is one of those venerated trees planted in front of Buddhist, Taoist and Shinto temples. It is said that Confucius once taught his philosophy beneath one of the planet’s oldest specimens, at Sungkyunkwan in South Korea. In Japanese tradition, the ginkgo wards off evil spirits, and it is also known for medicinal virtues and its natural fire‑resistant quality, a symbol of protection.
Rediscovered for landscaping about thirty years ago because of its ease of cultivation and rapid growth, it is increasingly seen in gardens, both as the typical form, Ginkgo biloba, and in dwarf varieties suitable for containers. It also lends itself well to bonsai training.
Today it is also widely planted for another reason: science is closely studying its interesting properties in research into cognitive disorders.

Read more at: Ginkgo biloba: why does this tree fascinate so many gardeners? and 5 great ideas for pairing ginkgo.

African and Indian ficus

Let us now travel to the African continent. Ficus sycomorus, which I saw myself at the Botanical Garden of Palermo, is one of Africa’s majestic trees, a classic “palaver tree”, alongside the baobab and the banyan, which are also sacred.

An African fig tree, remarkable for its stemless flowering and fruiting, arising directly from trunk and old branches. Once fertilised by wasps, the flowers (sycones, another botanical peculiarity) become small round figs, grey‑green to pinkish‑orange. As with our Mediterranean fig, it is not strictly a fruit but a pseudocarp.

Often simply called sycamore, Egyptian fig or Pharaoh’s fig in ancient Egypt, it belongs to family Moraceae. Found in Africa, it is also widespread in Near and Middle East, notably in Israel and Yemen, where it is still cultivated for its figs.
Mentioned in Old and New Testaments (Zacchaeus story), associated with Egyptian female deities (Hathor, Nut or Isis), Ficus sycomorus is one of the world’s oldest trees, venerated as a tree of life. Numerous representations have been found in tombs and on papyri; the Egyptians used its rot‑resistant wood to make sarcophagi and many everyday objects.
This age‑old sycamore also represents a tree of benefits, providing vital shade in hot countries, beneficial through abundance of fruit, and above all indicating presence of water, source of life.

Planted near graves, sycamores are still attributed a link between heaven and earth, true connections between the two worlds.

Another sacred Ficus is the banyan or banian (Ficus benghalensis), native to India, where it grows wild across the subcontinent. Remarkable for its vast spread, it is recognisable by spectacular aerial roots that descend from the crown to reach the ground, take root and proliferate. Its gigantism makes it hard to photograph; it is Bali’s cosmic sacred tree and a symbol of wisdom throughout Asia, its roots creating an immutable link between earth, people and the divine. Offerings are often left around banyans in Asia. Different religious traditions (Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism) ascribe varied attributes to it, but it remains a powerful symbol for communities, serving as refuge, landmark, spiritual anchor and meeting place.

Holly

Common holly (Ilex aquifolium), with evergreen leaves and bright red berries, holds a sacred place in many traditions worldwide. Often relegated to defensive hedging, holly has symbolised eternal life, protection and rebirth since antiquity, thanks to its evergreen foliage in winter. Celtic pagan culture revered it as a protective tree, able to drive away evil spirits and to purify places. It was often associated with the winter solstice, a time when its berries, symbols of fertility, shone in the sleeping landscape.

In Christian tradition, holly is linked to Christ’s crown of thorns, its red berries evoking shed blood. At Christmas it decorates homes with its reddened berries during dark season. The Romans presented holly branches at the Saturnalia, festivals marking renewal of the year. In folk magic holly is used for protection against spells and to attract luck. Its wood, reputedly rot‑resistant, was also used to make sacred objects.

Note: holly in English (“holly”) does not share etymological origin with “holy” (sacred), but their similar sounds and holly’s role in pagan then Christian traditions have strengthened its symbolic association with the sacred. Thus this plant, already protective in European cultures, became a “holy” emblem of winter festivities, notably at Christmas.

Cordyline and taro

Oceania is no stranger to sacred legends about its plants, found across the Pacific islands. According to an ancient Polynesian origin myth of plants, the taro (Colocasia esculenta) was born from a man’s feet and his lungs became the leaves. The plant called elephant’s ear is therefore more than an edible root to island inhabitants.

Cordyline fruticosa, a tropical, very colourful plant ubiquitous in hedges and villages, is also sacred: it was planted before houses and principal priests’ dwellings to drive away evil spirits; it was taken aboard canoes to bless sailors and long Pacific crossings. Its leaves had many practical uses — making waistcloths, roofing houses, cooking food — and its roots are edible. Called Ti in Hawai‘i and Auti in Tahitian, this plant with magical powers is consecrated to Lono, god of the fields, and widely used in religious ceremonies. It is still regarded as protective, judging by its presence around houses, and is much used in leaf crowns and necklaces that beautify Polynesian culture, adorning heads and bodies and welcoming visitors.

The lotus

Another plant with strong sacred connotations is the Asian species Nelumbo nucifera, the sacred lotus, which transports us to Asia.

Growing in full sun with roots in muddy water, the lotus symbolises purity arising from chaos and filth. Legend has it that the muddier the water it grows in, the purer and more beautiful its flowers. This purity is linked in Buddhist culture to purity of body and soul, and also to rebirth and spiritual elevation, like the flower rising above the water well above the leaves.

Its aura is not confined to India, its native land where it holds true sacred status. Vietnam has adopted it as national emblem, Macao even depicts it floating on water on its flag, and Egypt considers it a national flower.
Although the Egyptian lotus — actually a water lily — belongs to two other species (Nymphea lotus and Nymphea caerulea), it is likewise an aquatic plant and regarded as one of the oldest revered plants in the world: adored in pharaonic Egypt, the “sesen” was painted on tomb frescoes and bas‑reliefs, on papyri and used as a capital motif on “lotiform” temple columns. Opening with the sun and closing in the evening as it sinks beneath the water, it was associated with god Ra, symbolising creation, rebirth, the sun and therefore life. The blue lotus (Nymphaea caerulea), very fragrant, was used to perfume temples and as offerings to the gods.

Asian Nelumbo nucifera and the Egyptian lotus water lily are among the most deeply rooted sacred symbols worldwide, spanning distinct cultures and religions. The lotus’s many representations, and its symbolism of beauty, purity, fertility and divinity, make it a sacred flower in Buddhism and Taoism. In Asia, Buddha is often depicted seated on a lotus. Hatha yoga even borrowed from this plant the famous lotus posture used in Buddhist meditation. Among Hindus, creator god Brahma is said to have been born from a Nelumbo nucifera flower. Oriental temples are still preceded by lotus ponds, and the lotus throne is a common pedestal in Asian art.

The pawpaw (Asiminier)

We finish this sacred selection on the American continent. This tree with an oddly exotic common name (Pawpaw) is entirely hardy and has been cultivated for centuries in the northern and eastern United States and in Canada, in fact long before colonists arrived on the New World. The Anishinaabeg, Indigenous Algonquin peoples of Quebec and Ontario, gave the plant its Latin name Asimina triloba, probably derived from an Indigenous name.

Endemic to the whole eastern United States, the pawpaw was deeply rooted in Native American culture, serving not only as food but being closely associated with medicine, myths and spiritual meaning, notably as a symbol of patience and connection with nature.
For the Shawnee of Ohio, as for many Indigenous peoples, nature is inseparable from spirituality. Pawpaws, as nourishing and medicinal plants found at many sacred sites, were naturally integrated into rituals. The trees’ growth cycle symbolised renewal, connection to ancestors and balance between the physical and spiritual worlds. Pawpaw fruits likely featured in prayer and offering rites and were used as trade goods.
The Shawnee still see in these trees a symbol of connection between generations and their lands, even after forced displacement in the 19th century. The pawpaw remained a living reminder of cultural heritage.

This “poor man’s banana” or “northern mango”, as Québeckers call it, has a distinctive flavour that cannot easily be compared to familiar European fruits — . While much of the plant is toxic, the ripe fruit with creamy flesh is a source of vitamin C and manganese (but seeds and skin must not be eaten, as they are poisonous).
Belonging to family Annonaceae, which includes several tropical forest trees such as ylang‑ylang, custard apple and sugar‑apple, the pawpaw is unique in growing in temperate regions.

Go (much) further...

Many other plants and trees are considered sacred, often associated with immortality by peoples. They come from the oldest civilisations and traditions: the yew, the olive and the asphodel in the Mediterranean, the kapok tree (Ceiba) in South America, Commiphora myrrha (the myrrh of the Magi) in the Near East, the baobab, Cyperus papyrus in Egypt, sacred bamboo, the ash or the oak closer to home… They are all still linked to pagan or religious rites around the world.

For further reading for enthusiasts of botany and history like me: learn much more about the mythical sycamore in this fascinating Tela Botanica paper; there is much to say about the lotus, a millennia‑old plant with multiple sacred connotations… This article on the symbols of ancient Egypt should enthral you.

To conclude, publisher Eyrolles released in 2024 a beautiful book, "Arbres sacrés du monde - Science, légendes et usages autour de 25 essences, A marvellous anthropological exploration for connecting with the wisdom of trees" by Aurélie Valtat, which inspired me to buy it while researching this topic. I highly recommend it if you wish to continue this fascinating journey through the world’s trees.

At Delachaux et Niestlé you can find Histoires d'arbres - Des sciences aux contes by Philippe Domont, forest engineer, published in 2014. And, to write this article, I joyfully revisited one of my old favourites (the best!), Mythologies of the World by Roy Willis, original English edition 1993. It contains rich material and insights into the connections between humans and plants since time immemorial.