History Main / WorldTree

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': The Mila Tree. It is a large, majestic tree that inexplicably became a home for the older [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Tiki]] for unexplained reasons. The tree was named after [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Mila]] but never appeared in any other game at the time. In [[spoiler: ''[[VideoGameRemake Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]]'', the plothole is filled by saying it was born from the graves of Divine Dragons, which serves as a burial ground for both Mila and Duma [[AllThereInTheManual according to the Valentia Accordia]].]]
* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemWarriors'': Features a reference to the Mila Tree, which is literally named the World Tree.

* ''[[https://www.fimfiction.net/story/260316/the-flowers-dream The Flower's Dream]]'': A sapient flower is taught the secret of living in its own dream by an ancient tree that mastered the trick long ago. The flower, however, needs nourishment to keep itself going while it figures out how, so it sends some of the creatures it dreamed up into the tree's dream to gather pollen for it to eat. It's then revealed that [[spoiler:the tree's dream is the world of ''[[WesternAnimation/MyLittlePonyFriendshipIsMagic Friendship is Magic]]'', which the tree -- the Tree of Harmony from the show -- sustains and creates through its dreaming, and the flower's dream is the breezies' pocket dimension]]. By implication, the dreaming flower is on its way to becoming a life-sustaining world tree of its own.

* ''WebOriginal/OrionsArm'':

** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia'', the overarching goal of the characters is to re-create The World Tree, but the ''BigBad'' is named Yggdrasil.
** In ''VideoGame/TalesOfPhantasia'', the protagonists have to revive a dying world tree called Yggdrasil. It's the same tree, by the way.
** ''VideoGame/TalesOfSymphoniaDawnOfTheNewWorld'': The plot revolves heavily around the Summon Spirit of the Giant Kharlan Tree, the previous World Tree, who awakens immediately after ''[[VideoGame/TalesOfSymphonia Symphonia]]''. It's interesting that he's named [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ratatosk Ratatosk]], which connects to Norse mythology, which the game takes many ideas from.

* In ''VideoGame/DevilMayCry5'', Red Grave City is being destroyed because a giant supernatural tree -- named the Qliphoth -- that gives power to demons instead of the usual humans or spirits sprouts in the center of the city, as a twisted allusion to the Yggdrasil of Myth/NorseMythology. And [[EndOfTheWorldAsWeKnowIt it's spreading]].

* In ''Literature/SymphonyOfAges'', by Elizabeth Haydon, the protagonists travel along the root of one of the FIVE world trees, through the center of the planet, to an identical tree on the other end.

* In ''Literature/TrashOfTheCountsFamily'', each [[HiddenElfVillage elf village]] has a branch of the World tree. The tree itself recides in an especially hidden elf village. [[spoiler:It's also sentient, is capable of talking to people, and has mild awareness of happenings all around the world.]]

* ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'': The game takes place in the floating kingdom of Floralia, held up by the beanstalk-like plant known as the Dreamstalk. This plays a major role during the end-game, where it is revealed that the the People of the Sky Kirby saved just before he encountered Taranza [[spoiler:and fought a [[BrainwashedAndCrazy brainwashed]] Masked Dedede]] sent down overnight in the hopes that it will bring Kirby to them and save them from [[spoiler:[[GodSaveUsFromTheQueen Queen Sectonia]]. Then, after Sectonia is defeated for the first time, she does a FusionDance with the Dreamstalk to choke all the life out of Popstar in order to achieve true beauty.]]

* ''VideoGame/KirbyTripleDeluxe'': The sudden growth of such a tree in Dream Land is part of what kicks off the story.
** Whispy Woods's upgreaded form in ''VideoGame/KirbyStarAllies'' is named Yggy Woods, and is redesigned to look much older.

* ''WebAnimation/{{HumansBGone}}'' is set on Tricularia, a giant mutant bladderwort plant growing out of a planet and into space. It is huge enough to host whole societies of giant (as in bigger than the statue of Liberty) bugs.

* ''Series/AlteredCarbon'': Songspire Trees, a remnant of the [[ThePrecursors Elder]] civilization. They have glowing blue tendrils and emit a soft-but-etherial song-like sound at all times. They also have the ability to store consciousnesses, and are actually a form of OrganicTechnology. The Bancrofts have actually had an entire tree imported to Earth for their mansion, at an absurdly expensive cost, both because they are beautiful and [[ConspicuousConsumption because they can]]. The trees also come in varying sizes. The Bancroft's is roughly 30-feet tall, whereas the one at the Quellist base on Stronghold is at least several hundred feet high and gargantuan.

* ''TabletopGame/YuGiOh'':
** In the [[Metaplot/YuGiOhHiddenArsenal Hidden Arsenal storyline]], the Naturia Sacred Tree is a gigantic tree that supports the Insects and Plants of the Naturia. Leoh is the guardian of the tree, but he failed when Elshadoll Midrash attacked it in an attempt at getting its power. Then it turned out the tree had a strange sephirot structure hidden beneath it, and a few [[SealedEvilInACan Sealed Evils In A Can]] to boot.
** There's also a card called "World Tree", which gains counters whenever a Plant-type monster is destroyed.

''WebAnimation/{{HumansBGone}}'' is set on Tricularia, a giant mutant bladderwort plant growing out of a planet and into space. It is huge enough to host whole societies of giant (as in bigger than the statue of Liberty) bugs.

** The various White Trees were either made in the image of Telperion, or descended from its seedlings/cuttings (depending on which version of the mythopoeia you read). In the later version of the mythos, the White Tree of the elven city of Tirion was made in the image of Telperion, its seedling became the White Tree of Tol Eressëa, ''its'' seedling became the White Tree of Númenor, and the last seedling taken from it before it was cut and burned at Sauron's insistence became the first of the four White Trees of Gondor -- the first grew in Minas Ithil and was destroyed when it fell and became Minas Morgul, the second died during a massive plague, the third withered when Gondor's kings died out and became the dead tree in ''Literature/TheLordOfTheRings'', and the fourth is found rooted in the mountain above Minas Tirith in the conclusion of the story. These trees serve as symbols of the nations that planted them; the die with each further crumbling of the dying empire, but their their seedlings' survival after their parents' destruction symbolize the people of Númenor and Gondor continuing to survive and carry the spark of civilization despite the calamities befalling them.

* ''Manga/{{Naruto}}'': The source of all chakra was the Shinju, a massive tree that grew from the blood of the dead and was worshipped as a god. According to legend, after the mother of the Sage of Six Paths stole some of its power, [[GaiasVengeance it became the Ten Tailed beast in an effort to reclaim it]]. [[spoiler:The truth is that said mother, [[HumanoidAbomination Kaguya Otsutsuki]], didn't like the idea of her sons obtaining the power of chakra ''she'' originally possessed, and [[FusionDance merged]] with the tree to create the Ten-Tails to take that power back.]]

* ''VideoGame/FireEmblemAwakening'': The Mila Tree. It is a large, majestic tree that inexplicably became a home for the older [[VideoGame/FireEmblemShadowDragonAndTheBladeOfLight Tiki]] for unexplained reasons. The tree was named after [[VideoGame/FireEmblemGaiden Mila]] but never appeared in any other game at the time. In [[spoiler: [[VideoGameRemake Echoes: Shadows of Valentia]], the plothole is filled by saying it was born from the graves of Divine Dragons, which serves as a burial ground for both Mila and Duma [[AllThereInTheManual according to the Valentia Accordia]].]]

This is a [[OlderThanDirt very old]] archetype, one that spans the ages and cultures. It has been called Yggdrasil, the Axis Mundi, and the Tree of Life among other names. Many works of fiction have embraced it quite thoroughly.

** A Greattree, separate from the Erdtree, is mentioned as having once existed in certain item descriptions, but by the present only a continent-spanning root system remains, entangled with the Erdtree's own roots. No clue is offered as to what happened to the rest of it, or its precise relationship to the Erdtree. Indeed, due to the nebulousness of the lore, some fans believe the Greattree to simply be an older or alternative name for the Erdtree.

** A Greattree, separate from the Erdtree, is mentioned as having once existed in certain item descriptions, but by the present only a continent-spanning root system remains, entangled with the Erdtree's own roots. No clue is offered as to what happened to the rest of it, or its precise relationship to the Erdtree.

* Given that it's the Myth/NorseMythology inspired plane, it shouldn't be surprising that the plane of Kaldheim in ''TabletopGame/MagicTheGathering'' is made up of several smaller realms connected by one of these. The tree itself is also represented by an extremely powerful land card: it effectively works like a normal Forest most of the time, but if you have six or more lands, it grants them all the ability to produce mana of any color, and if you spend two mana of each color, it can get any number of gods out of your library and onto the field. Oddly, it's not [[AKindOfOne Legendary]], implying either that the creative team missed a step or that there's more than one World Tree in Kaldheim.

* ''Film/{{Avatar}}'' has Hometree and the Tree of Souls. The former is home to the Omaticaya tribe of Na'vi, the latter is a spiritual center for the Na'vi.

[[folder:Webanimation]]
''WebAnimation/{{HumansBGone}}'' is set on Tricularia, a giant mutant bladderwort plant growing out of a planet and into space. It is huge enough to hosts whole societies of giant (as in bigger than the statue of Liberty) bugs.

* ''Website/SCPFoundation'' provides an example of the corrupted world tree archetype in Yaldabaoth, the principal deity of the Sarkic cults (in this case meaning the cosmic power they exploit in a slightly more respectful manner). One part AlmightyIdiot, one part MotherOfAThousandYoung, and one part {{inverted}} PlanetaryParasite, it does for LifeEnergy what LightIsNotGood did for ThePowerOfTheSun.

* ''Anime/CastleInTheSky'': The mystic city of Laputa is built around a huge, millennial tree. At the end of the film, the city is destroyed, but the tree lives on and finds a new home in outer space.

* ''Manga/{{Doraemon}}''
** ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheWingedBraves'' has a giant tree standing in the middle of Birdopia, where every year Birdopian residents, including the new character Gusuke, will race each other to the top to be qualified for the esteemed Birdopian Migration Troops. The race to the tree is a major set piece in the film, where Nobita, Gian and Suneo even gets to participate as guests.
** ''Anime/DoraemonNobitaAndTheGreenGiantLegend'': The core of the Green Planet is supported by one such tree, which grows from the planet's heart and turns all vegetation into sentient PlantAliens. Unfortunately, the aliens intend to grow a second one on ''earth'', covering the world's surface with vegetation, as retaliation on mankind's pollution and destruction of their "non-sentient earth plant brothers".

* ''Franchise/GhostInTheShell'': There is a large tree of life painted on the wall of the final showdown, which of course was lifted straight out of one of Creator/MamoruOshii's earlier films called ''Anime/AngelsEgg.''

* ''Anime/Interstella5555'' had the band members burying their fallen comrade under the Tree, where his soul then ascends.

* In ''LightNovel/TheRisingOfTheShieldHero'' Naofumi is disgusted when he discovers the "God Tree" is in fact [[spoiler:the crepe tree he created for Kiel, having grown enormous in the centuries since]].

* ''LightNovel/{{Slayers}}'': The city of Sairaag is protected by a giant tree. Well, for a while.
* ''Lightnovel/SwordArtOnline'': The game ''Alfheim Online'', based on Norse mythology, has the Word Tree Yggdrasil at the center of the game. There, players can attempt the Grand Quest, a difficult challenge where the objective is to get past an endless army of tough boss-level monsters to get to the top. Clearing the quest allows the player who reached the top to have an audience with the fairy king Oberon and turn their race into Alfs, lifting the restrictions on their flight. In reality, [[spoiler:the Grand Quest is UnwinnableByDesign, because Oberon is actually Sugou Nobuyuki and the World Tree is where he's keeping Asuna prisoner and experimenting on the 300 other minds he captured from Sword Art Online after it was cleared.]] After the game is relaunched, the World Tree is fully accessible, all races had their flight restrictions removed, and a city was created at the top of the World Tree.

* ''Manga/X1999'': The promise made between rival-clan onmyouji Sakurazuka Seishirou and Sumeragi Subaru under an enormous cherry tree is the cause of later tragedy.

* ''Anime/DragonBallZ'': Inverted in the third movie, ''Anime/DragonBallZTheTreeOfMight'': the antagonists come to Earth and plant a seed which sucks the life out of everything and becomes a giant tree that's visible from space in a matter of hours. The main characters have to destroy the tree to stop it from destroying the world, and so that it can't bear a fruit that will give whoever eats it tremendous power.

''WebAnimation/{{HumansBGone}}'' is set on Tricularia, a giant mutant bladderwort plant growing out of a planet and into space. It is huge enough to hosts whole societies of giants (as in bigger than the statue of Liberty) bugs.