I don't think I can quite picture the people worshipping the branches rather than the trees- seems unlikely.
Agreed - which is exactly what my original suggestion conveys. In full, it reads:
"The strands of this tree shimmer like gold and it [
the tree, singular] is worshipped by the local people."
I think we're arguing about semantics. Whichever you prefer, the original text is incorrect. I'm happy for the devs to decide how they want to change it.