diff --git a/src/pkg/html/template/escape.go b/src/pkg/html/template/escape.go
index 2f8dad9ec19..4a7a9354c93 100644
--- a/src/pkg/html/template/escape.go
+++ b/src/pkg/html/template/escape.go
@@ -720,7 +720,9 @@ func (e *escaper) commit() {
 		e.template(name).Funcs(funcMap)
 	}
 	for _, t := range e.derived {
-		e.tmpl.text.Add(t)
+		if _, err := e.tmpl.text.AddParseTree(t.Name(), t.Tree); err != nil {
+			panic("error adding derived template")
+		}
 	}
 	for n, s := range e.actionNodeEdits {
 		ensurePipelineContains(n.Pipe, s)
diff --git a/src/pkg/html/template/template.go b/src/pkg/html/template/template.go
index ca91d4d2314..f05ca190f73 100644
--- a/src/pkg/html/template/template.go
+++ b/src/pkg/html/template/template.go
@@ -11,6 +11,7 @@ import (
 	"path/filepath"
 	"sync"
 	"text/template"
+	"text/template/parse"
 )
 
 // Template is a specialized template.Template that produces a safe HTML
@@ -65,10 +66,14 @@ func (t *Template) ExecuteTemplate(wr io.Writer, name string, data interface{})
 	return tmpl.text.ExecuteTemplate(wr, name, data)
 }
 
-// Parse parses a string into a set of named templates.  Parse may be called
-// multiple times for a given set, adding the templates defined in the string
-// to the set.  If a template is redefined, the element in the set is
-// overwritten with the new definition.
+// Parse parses a string into a template. Nested template definitions
+// will be associated with the top-level template t. Parse may be
+// called multiple times to parse definitions of templates to associate
+// with t. It is an error if a resulting template is non-empty (contains
+// content other than template definitions) and would replace a
+// non-empty template with the same name.  (In multiple calls to Parse
+// with the same receiver template, only one call can contain text
+// other than space, comments, and template definitions.)
 func (t *Template) Parse(src string) (*Template, error) {
 	t.nameSpace.mu.Lock()
 	t.escaped = false
@@ -94,9 +99,9 @@ func (t *Template) Parse(src string) (*Template, error) {
 	return t, nil
 }
 
-// Add is unimplemented.
-func (t *Template) Add(*Template) error {
-	return fmt.Errorf("html/template: Add unimplemented")
+// AddParseTree is unimplemented.
+func (t *Template) AddParseTree(name string, tree *parse.Tree) error {
+	return fmt.Errorf("html/template: AddParseTree unimplemented")
 }
 
 // Clone is unimplemented.
diff --git a/src/pkg/text/template/multi_test.go b/src/pkg/text/template/multi_test.go
index bf4f3078b3c..7b35d2633d5 100644
--- a/src/pkg/text/template/multi_test.go
+++ b/src/pkg/text/template/multi_test.go
@@ -10,6 +10,7 @@ import (
 	"bytes"
 	"fmt"
 	"testing"
+	"text/template/parse"
 )
 
 type isEmptyTest struct {
@@ -258,3 +259,30 @@ func TestClone(t *testing.T) {
 		t.Errorf("expected %q got %q", "bclone", b.String())
 	}
 }
+
+func TestAddParseTree(t *testing.T) {
+	// Create some templates.
+	root, err := New("root").Parse(cloneText1)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	_, err = root.Parse(cloneText2)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	// Add a new parse tree.
+	tree, err := parse.Parse("cloneText3", cloneText3, "", "", nil, builtins)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	added, err := root.AddParseTree("c", tree["c"])
+	// Execute.
+	var b bytes.Buffer
+	err = added.ExecuteTemplate(&b, "a", 0)
+	if err != nil {
+		t.Fatal(err)
+	}
+	if b.String() != "broot" {
+		t.Errorf("expected %q got %q", "broot", b.String())
+	}
+}
diff --git a/src/pkg/text/template/template.go b/src/pkg/text/template/template.go
index c1d0c1c3491..04fca407c10 100644
--- a/src/pkg/text/template/template.go
+++ b/src/pkg/text/template/template.go
@@ -103,21 +103,16 @@ func (t *Template) copy(c *common) *Template {
 	return nt
 }
 
-// Add associates the argument template, arg, with t, and vice versa,
-// so they may invoke each other. To do this, it also removes any
-// prior associations arg may have. Except for losing the link to
-// arg, templates associated with arg are otherwise unaffected. It
-// is an error if the argument template's name is already associated
-// with t.  Add is here to support html/template and is not intended
-// for other uses.
-// TODO: make this take a parse.Tree argument instead of a template.
-func (t *Template) Add(arg *Template) error {
-	if t.tmpl[arg.name] != nil {
-		return fmt.Errorf("template: redefinition of template %q", arg.name)
+// AddParseTree creates a new template with the name and parse tree
+// and associates it with t.
+func (t *Template) AddParseTree(name string, tree *parse.Tree) (*Template, error) {
+	if t.tmpl[name] != nil {
+		return nil, fmt.Errorf("template: redefinition of template %q", name)
 	}
-	arg.common = t.common
-	t.tmpl[arg.name] = arg
-	return nil
+	nt := t.New(name)
+	nt.Tree = tree
+	t.tmpl[name] = nt
+	return nt, nil
 }
 
 // Templates returns a slice of the templates associated with t, including t