Perthro, the Rune with the “p” sound may derive from Proto Norse perþu and might be a reference to a fruit tree. This Rune itself is on the Kylver Rune Stone from 400 AD. It might have been associated with an apple tree, a tree connected to Iðunn, also known as Iduna, a norse Goddess of youth and possibly also of fertility.

She’s the one that is ever-young, a bringer of health and life. Age and disease cannot do her any arm. She’s the promise of the cycle of nature, after every winter, there’s a spring and everything in nature is transformed, instead of lost.

The Roman historian Cornelius Tacitus tells us in his writing “Germania” that the Germanic people carved Runes into the twigs of fruit trees. The Rune might indicate forces of life and youth. The apple tree grows all over in Central Europe and might have been a nutritious, life-saving fruit during the winter time. It’s also associated with pleasure and divination. The meaning of this Rune is still very much a mystery.