Trees in mythology

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Trees have played an important role in many of the world's mythologies and religions. They have come in a variety of different forms and seem to have many different meanings. Examples are Yggdrasil and the modern tradition of the Christmas Tree in Germanic mythology, the Tree of Knowledge of Judaism and Christianity, and the Bodhi tree in Buddhism. In some religions, such as Hinduism, trees are said to be the homes of tree spirits.

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Examples

Deciduous Trees Falling off or shed at a specific season or stage of growth

Many trees of life are considered to be deciduous.
*The Norse world tree Yggdrasil is an ash tree.
*In Chinese mythology, there is a peach tree which grows one fruit every three thousand years. Eating of the peach grants immortality.
Other mythologies contain other references to deciduous trees.
*In Greek mythology, Eros makes Apollo fall in love with a nymph Daphne (Greek: Δάφνη, meaning "laurel"), who hates him. As she runs away from him, she runs to the river and tells it to turn her into a tree. She becomes a bay tree, which is deciduous.
*In Norse mythology, Loki abducts Idun and her golden apples of youth.
*The first humans in Norse mythology were made from an ash and an elm--both deciduous.

A number of fictional "tree-beings" were also inspired by folklore and mythology, or taken directly from them. Some examples are:

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