If funéraire de Saint-Ursin, Millenary yew tree in Saint-Ursin, France.

The yew tree of Saint-Ursin stands beside the parish church, its massive dark trunk split into a gnarled base with hollows and ridges. A low wooden fence of horizontal rails surrounds it. Its dense green foliage forms a broad, rounded crown reaching toward the church roofline. The trunk's circumference measured 9.98 meters in August 2013.

The tree was planted over 1000 years ago and witnessed the construction of a chapel built beside it during the 12th century. These two events anchor the yew deeply within the long history of the place.

Children brought to the church for the healing ritual against convulsions caused by intestinal worms complete it by nestling inside the hollow trunk of the yew on their way out. The tree and the 17th-century church, which keeps a statue of Saint Ursin, thus form a single ritual ensemble.

The tree stands on the village square right beside the old parish church, making it easy to locate and access. Visitors should remember that this is a living, very ancient organism that deserves careful respect during a visit.

The tree's girth measured 9.98 metres in August 2013, though it shrank after the 1990 storm tore off a large branch. Adventitious roots have grown directly on the trunk, and pilgrims, especially children, still nestle into the hollow of the trunk after the healing ritual at the church.