Ogham Trees
Can you see the wood?

Each ogham letter is (ostensibly) named for a tree in an archaic form of Irish.

This concept stems mainly from Longarad’s Auraicept na nÉces. But Ellis cites Dr. McManus and others who argue that the basic twenty characters of ogham were not all named after trees. The exceptions he advances are:

luis – Ellis says that luis comes from either luise (flame, blaze) or lus (plant, herb).
nion – Ellis says nion (or nin) is a fork or loft.
uath – Ellis says uath means horror or fear.
tinne – Ellis says that tinne means a bar, rod of metal, ingot etc.
muin – Ellis says that when vines were introduced, the Old Irish was finchí, a loan word from the Latin vin. The word muin was neck or throat (cf. modern Irish muineál).
gort – Ellis says that the Old Irish word for ivy is eidnen and that gort actually means a field.
ruis – Ellis says that ruis is from the word for red.
ur – Ellis says that ur means earth, clay, or soil and sometimes as a green branch.

Nevertheless, the “tree alphabet” is by now firmly established in popular Celtic culture.

Clark suggests that, given the species associated with each letter, the ogham alphabet – at least in its spoken form – originated in central Europe: specifically, the valley of the Rhine River, home of the Iron-Age La Tène culture that is regarded to be ancestral to the Celts. However, it is not clear how he has identified each species with such confidence.

The table below follows Clark with a few exceptions.

Few	Tree(s)
BEITH	birch, Betula spp., most likely silver birch, B. pendula (beith ghael in modern Irish) native to all Britain and to west and central Ireland. This is sometimes given as white birch, B. alba, but this isn’t native to the British Isles. Dwarf birch, B. nana is native to Britain only; downy birch, B. pubescens to both Britain and Ireland. Clark notes that beith is cognate with both English birch and Latin betula.
LUIS	rowan, Sorbus aucuparia (sometimes given as Pyrus aucuparia), also know as mountain ash, quickbeam, and quicken, native throughout Britain and Ireland, although commonest in the West and the North of Britain. There are many other Sorbus species – whitebeams and service trees – common to Britain and/or Ireland (see below).
FEARN	alder, Alnus glutinosa, also known as black alder and common alder, natural throughout the British Isles.
SAIL	willow, Salix spp., most likely pussy willow, S. caprea, also known as goat willow and great sallow, found throughout Britain and Ireland except for the Outer Hebrides. There are many other willows native to Britain and/or Ireland (see below). But note that weeping willow, S. babylonica, isn’t one of them! Clark notes that sail is cognate with both English sallow and Latin salix.
NION	ash, Fraxinus excelsior, found throughout the British Isles.
UATH	hawthorn, Crataegus monogyna (sometimes given as C. oxyacantha), also known as may and whitethorn, found throughout the British Isles. Another species, midland hawthorn, C. laevigata, is native to Britain but not Ireland.
DAIR	oak, Quercus robor, i.e., common oak, also known as English oak and pendunculate oak, found throughout Britain and Ireland. Or possibly sessile or durmast oak, Q. petraea, which is found through the British Isles but particularly in West and Northern Britain.
TINNE	holly, Ilex aquifolium, also known as holm, native to British Isles, particularly found in the West. This is sometimes given as ash, Fraxinus excelsior (see nuin).
COLL	hazel, Corylus avellana, found in all of the British Isles. Clark notes that coll is cognate with Latin corylus.
CEIRT	crab apple, Malus sylvestris, found throughout the British Isles. This is often given as just “apple”.
MUIN	vine, Vitis vinifera, not native to the British Isles, but cultivated here from antiquity.
GORT	ivy, Hedera helix. Native to Britain and Ireland.
NGEADAL	broom, Cytisus scoparius (Sarothamnus scoparius), also known as Scotch broom. Native to Britain and Ireland. More often given as reed, Phragmites australis, but Ellis corroborates Old Irish gedal for broom. Occasionally given as fern, any of the class Filicopsida.
STRAIF	blackthorn or sloe, Prunus spinosa. Native to Britain and Ireland. Two other Prunus species – wild cherry or gean, P. avium, and bird cherry, P. padus – are also native to Britain and Ireland.
RUIS	elder, Sambucus nigra. Native to Britain and Ireland.
AILM	elm, Ulmus spp., most likely wych elm, U. glabra, common in the North and the West of Britain and in Ireland. Three other elms – small-leaved elm, U. minor, Plot’s elm, U. plotii, and English elm, U. procera – are native to Britain but not Ireland. But ailm is most commonly given as fir, Abies spp., (often specifically silver fir, A. alba). This is one of the two trees which Clark reckoned were not native to the British Isles and so lead him to conclude a La Tène origin for the ogham letter names. My preference for elm, however, is based on both its distribution and the similarity of ailm to both English elm and Latin ulmus! A less common correspondence – less common than fir, but more common than elm! – is with pine, Pinus spp., especially Scots pine, P. sylvestris, native to Britain but not Ireland.
ONN	furze or gorse, Ulex europaeus, native to Britain and Ireland. Western or autumn gorse, U. gallii, is also native to Britain and Ireland; dwarf gorse, U. minor, to Britain but not Ireland.
UR	heather, Calluna vulgaris, also known as ling or Scotch heather. Found throughout Britain and Ireland. Or perhaps another heather or heath, Erica spp., native to Britain and Ireland, such as bell heather or twisted heath, E. cinerea. Clark notes that ur is cognate with Latin erica.
EADHADH	aspen, Populus tremula. Found throughout Britain and Ireland. (Not to be confused with North America aspen, P. tremuloides!) This is sometimes given as white poplar, P. alba, but this is not a native. Black poplar, P. nigra, however, is native to Britain and Ireland.
IODHADH	yew, Taxus baccata. Found throughout Britain and Ireland. Clark notes that idad is cognate with English yew.
EABHADH	aspen, Populus tremula. Eabhadh is an alternative form of the e-few; see eadhadh. This is sometimes given as elecampane, Inula helenium.
OR	spindle, Euonymus europaeus. Native to Britain and Ireland.
UILLEANN	honeysuckle or woodbine, Lonicera periclymenum. Native to Britain and Ireland. Fly honeysuckle, L. xylosteum, is native to Britain.
IFIN	gooseberry, Ribes grossularia (or uva-crispa). Native to Britain and parts of Ireland. Blackcurrant, R. nigrum, etc. are also native to Britain (see below.)
EAMHANCHOLL	beech, Fagus sylvatica, found in Southern England to Gloucestershire and a few localities in South Wales, but not native to Ireland.
PEITH	whitten, Viburnum spp., either guelder rose, cranberry tree, or marsh elder, V. opulus, native to Britain and Ireland, or wayfaring tree, lithy tree, or twistwood V. lantana, native to Britain. This is sometimes given as dwarf elder, Sambucus ebulus, but this is not native to the British Isles. Possibly owing to confusion with marsh elder, V. opulus. Or perhaps simply a pun on beith?

Other native trees and shrubs

In addition to the ogham trees and their relatives cited above, there are many other trees and shrubs native to Britain and Ireland – enough to name several other alphabets!

Some of these are endemic – found only in the British Isles.

‰ – species endemic to the British Isles
† – species endemic to England
‡ – species endemic to Scotland
• – species endemic to Wales
€ – species endemic to Ireland

Tree or shrub	Britain	Ireland
field maple, Acer campestre	✓	―
strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo	✓	✓
box, Buxus sempervirens	✓	―
hornbeam, Carpinus betula	✓	―
traveller’s joy or old-man’s beard, Clematis vitalba	✓	―
dogwood, Cornus sanguinea	✓	✓
spurge laurel, Daphne laureola	✓	―
alder buckthorn, Frangula alnus	✓	✓
hop, Humulus lupulus	✓	―
tutsan, Hypericum androsaemum	✓	―
perforate St. John’s wort, Hypericum perforatum	✓	―
juniper, Juniperus communis	✓	✓
privet, Ligustrum vulgare	✓	✓
bog myrtle or sweet gale, Myrica gale	✓	―
shrubby cinquefoil, Potentilla fruticosa	✓	―
buckthorn, Rhamnus cathartica	✓	✓
currant, Ribes spp. ― • mountain currant, R. alpinum • blackcurrant, R. nigrum • downy currant R. spicatum	✓	?
rose, Rosa spp. ― • field rose, R. arvensis • dog rose, R. canina • burnet rose, R. pimpinellifolia	✓	―
bramble, Rubus fruticosus	✓	―
willow, Salix spp. ― • white willow, S. alba • mountain willow, S. arbuscula • crack-willow, S. fragilis • woolly willow, S. lanata • downy willow, S. lapponum • dark-leaved willow, S. myrsinifolia • whortle-leaved willow, S. myrsinites • net-leaved willow, S. reticulata • almond willow, S. triandra • osier, S. viminalis	✓	―
willow, Salix spp. ― • eared willow, S. aurita • grey willow, S. cinerea • dwarf willow, S. herbacea • bay willow, S. pentandra • tea-leaved willow, S. phylicifolia • purple willow, S. purpurea • creeping willow, S. repens	✓	✓
woody nightshade or bittersweet, Solanum dulcamara	✓	―
whitebeam, Sorbus spp. ― • Swedish whitebeam, S. anglica ‰ • common whitebeam, S. aria • broad-leaved whitebeam, S. devoniensis ‰ • common whitebeam, S. eminens ‰ • common whitebeam, S. porrigentiformis ‰	✓	✓
whitebeam, Sorbus spp. ― • Swedish whitebeam, S. arranensis ‡ • broad-leaved whitebeam, S. bristoliensis † • common whitebeam, S. lancastriensis † • common whitebeam, S. leptophyllia • • Swedish whitebeam, S. leyana • • Swedish whitebeam, S. minima • • broad-leaved whitebeam, S. subcuneata † • common whitebeam, S. vexans † • common whitebeam, S. wilmottiana †	✓	―
service tree, Sorbus spp. ― • service tree, S. domestica • Arran service tree, S. pseudofennica ‡ • wild service tree, S. torminalis	✓	―
whitebeam, Sorbus spp. ― • common or Irish whitebeam, S. hibernica € • rock whitebeam, S. rupicola	―	✓
lime, Tilia spp. ― • small-leaved lime, T. cordata • large-leaved lime, T. platyphyllos	✓	―

Botanical resources

Jill, Duchess of Hamilton (coordinator), Jubilee Trees

Aileen O’Sullivan, Ddchas (The Heritage Service), “Native Irish Trees, Large Shrubs & Climbers”

Professor Clive Stace, Flora-for-Fauna - Native species checklists

Bill Unsworth et al., British Trees Website

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	http://homepage.mac.com/antallan/ogtrees.html	Last updated Friday 8 August 2008