diff --git a/tree.c b/tree.c
index 043f032151..e7a7b7190c 100644
--- a/tree.c
+++ b/tree.c
@@ -200,7 +200,6 @@ int parse_tree_buffer(struct tree *item, void *buffer, unsigned long size)
 		}
 		if (obj)
 			n_refs++;
-		entry->parent = NULL; /* needs to be filled by the user */
 		*list_p = entry;
 		list_p = &entry->next;
 	}
diff --git a/tree.h b/tree.h
index 768e5e9eb8..57a5bf71f2 100644
--- a/tree.h
+++ b/tree.h
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ struct tree_entry_list {
 		struct tree *tree;
 		struct blob *blob;
 	} item;
-	struct tree_entry_list *parent;
 };
 
 struct tree {