The expansion of cropland and livestock grazing across the northern highlands of Ethiopia over the course of centuries has resulted in a landscape largely devoid of natural forest cover. However across the region some small patches of native vegetation remain, often in the form of intentionally conserved patches of native trees known as “church forests” which have been conserved for centuries by followers of the Ethiopian Orthodox church. In addition, in many places farmers have also conserved individual trees – such as shade trees, boundary markers, or trees with medicinal values – within their farmland. The conservation value of church forests has received increasing attention in the literature, however little is known about the tree species conserved in the fields surrounding church forests. This study examines tree species abundance and diversity in farmland surrounding 14 church forests across four study areas in northern Ethiopia’s Amhara Region. We consider both indigenous and exotic tree species, and quantify (i) the location and abundance of tree species present in farmland (local name and scientific name), and (ii) the reported subsistence, medicinal, and ecosystem service uses of each tree species based on surveys of farmers at each site. We then compare these cropland tree species data to the tree species composition of church forests themselves. Findings suggest that in addition to the conservation value of church forests, conservation of scattered trees in farmland surrounding church forests may also represent an important reserve of indigenous biodiversity in northern Ethiopia. In the heavily degraded multipurpose landscapes in Ethiopia and elsewhere further attention to these scattered trees may be warranted.