Le Mûrier du Chevalier

Aubusson-d'Auvergne

Wedged between two farm buildings in the hamlet of Puymillier, this black mulberry, its trunk entirely hollowed out by the centuries, hides one of the loveliest legends of the Livradois: that of a knight who, returning from the crusades, is said to have planted here the cutting he had brought back from the East. The official dating is more cautious and places it in the time of Henri IV, but the mystery of its exact age remains complete, so thoroughly do mulberries, with their capricious growth, defeat all estimates. What is beyond doubt, on the other hand, is its girth of more than four metres, one of the most imposing ever measured for a mulberry in France. Its cavernous trunk, held together by an old hoop of rusted iron to stop it splitting apart — a common misfortune for these soft-wooded trees — bears witness to a silent struggle against time. Awarded the remarkable tree label in 2002, it took the memory of the people of Puymillier to save it from oblivion: no sign points to it, and only word of mouth among the locals still makes it possible today to find this knight of the plant world, motionless for centuries amid its farms.

Getting there : Hamlet of Puymillier, about 2 km from the village of Aubusson-d'Auvergne (Puy-de-Dôme)

Opening times and access details are given as a guide only: check before you set out.

Ambient sound