I have a bit of a fascination about transformations across kingdoms of life. I’d make another list about stories with people turning into fungi (or simply stories with fungi as the main characters) as well, but there don’t seem to be many of those. So, plants it is.
Only after writing up this page did I realise that TV Tropes already has an extensive list under the heading Transflormation. That’s okay though—it seems like they don’t have Dendrocacalia on there.
Anyway, here’s my list. I will update it now and then. Send me a message if you know any other examples that aren’t here or on TV Tropes—my contact details are on my homepage.
Greek myths
This is the largest source of these kinds of stories. I’ve only got a list of names and plants in notes that I took while reading adaptations of Greek myths, and to be honest I can’t remember the full story of each character here. I might flesh out this section more if I get the time, but here’s a detailed list of characters who turned into trees in Stephen Fry’s Mythos to tide you over in the meantime.
Dendrocacalia by Kobo Abe
This is the story that got me interested in the idea of turning into a plant (and it refers to Greek myths as well, but I had forgotten about that since reading it for the first time). It’s a goodun.
No More Heroes 3
A character called Naomi appeared as a human in the previous games, but is a tree in this game. In an interview with Destructoid, the game’s designer states that she was rather old and transferred her consciousness to a tree before dying. As such, she technically has not transformed into a tree, but I think this case fits the list well enough.
The Vegetarian by Han Kang
This is another one that doesn’t technically fit because the protagonist doesn’t physically turn into a tree, but she does do so metaphorically, and one of her relatives seems to sense her presence within a grove of trees at one point, if I recall correctly.
The Plant People by Dale Carlson
This is an story of people around the world actually being turned into trees. It’s a fun little children’s horror book.
The Island of Missing Trees by Elif Shafak
I feel like this qualifies for the list solely for the amazing chapter near the start told from the perspective of a female fig tree that has fallen in love with her planter and caretaker. The chapter has a very tender and even sensual feeling to it as the planter caresses her as he gently eases her into a furrow in the ground to protect her during the winter. Mild spoilers for the ending, but it turns out that the tree is inhabited by a human soul, so I think it definitely counts for this list.
By mojilove on 2025-06-01