The Gaelic Tree Alphabet

Each of the 18 letters in Gaelic’s alphabet was traditionally associated with a tree name. It is thought that a list of tree names was used as a mnemonic to help remember the letters of the alphabet. There are various versions of the tree-list which slightly differ from each other. The one below is taken from Dwelly’s Gaelic dictionary:-

A = Ailm (Elm)

B = Beith (Birch)

C = Coll or calltuinn (Hazel)

D = Dair or darach (Oak)

E = Eadha (Aspen)

F = Feàrn (Alder)

G = Gort (Ivy)

H = Uath (Hawthorn)

I = Iogh or iubhar (Yew)

 L = Luis (Quicken-tree)

M = Muin (Vine)

N = Nuin (Ash)

O = Onn (Gorse)

P = Beith Bhog (Downy birch)

R = Ruis (Elder)

S = Suil or seileach (Willow)

T = Teine (Furze)

U = Ur (Yew)