Istyald, the Tree of Knowledge

Apart from a few mythological occurrences, most trees generally do not have proper names in the Middle Ages. At most, they are associated with famous people. It was with the development of the idea that nature should be preserved in the face of rampant industrialization that people in the West began to name trees, particularly in American national parks, and later in fantasy worlds. Tolkien thus gives a name to the oldest of the white trees, as well as to the large trees of Valinor, Telperion and Laurelin. In a similar vein, we can also mention the Ellcrys of the Shannara universe created by Terry Brooks. Remarkably, some large trees in the American National Parks have been given names taken from fantasy universes, such as the Sequoia evergreen Iluvatar, a name inspired by The Silmarillion.