Taxus baccata

Plant Characteristics

Habit		tree
Height:	⇕	50 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 50.
Width:	⇔	25 ft"ft" can not be assigned to a declared number type with value 25.
Poisonous:	☠	parts are toxic

Cultivation

Exposure:	☼	sun
Features:	✓	evergreen
USDA Zones:		5 to 10

Scientific Names

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Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the common yew, or European yew.

Description

It is a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10 - 20 m (exceptionally up to 28 m ) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m (exceptionally 4 m ) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1 - 4 cm long and 2 - 3 mm broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious. The leaves are highly poisonous.

The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4 - 7 mm long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8 - 15 mm long and wide and open at the end. The arils are mature 6–9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings; maturation of the arils is spread over 2–3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seeds themselves are extremely poisonous and bitter, but are opened and eaten by some bird species including Hawfinches and Great Tits. The aril is not poisonous, and is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 3 - 6 mm diameter, and shed their pollen in early spring. It is mostly dioecious, but occasional individuals can be variably monoecious, or change sex with time.

It is relatively slow growing, but can be very long-lived, with the maximum recorded trunk diameter of 4 metres probably only being reached in about 2,000 years. The potential age of yews is impossible to determine accurately and is subject to much dispute. There is rarely any wood as old as the entire tree, while the boughs themselves often hollow with age, making ring counts impossible. There are confirmed claims as high as 5,000-9,500 years, but other evidence based on growth rates and archaeological work of surrounding structures suggests the oldest trees (such as the Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland) are more likely to be in the range of 2,000 years. Even with this lower estimate, Taxus baccata is the longest living plant in Europe.

Read about Taxus baccata in the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture

Taxus baccata, Linn. Tree, attaining 60 ft., with a usually short trunk, occasionally 8 ft. or more in diam.: bark reddish, flaky, deeply fissured in old trees: branches spreading, forming a broad, low head; branchlets somewhat pendulous: lvs. 2-ranked, linear and usually falcate, shortly acuminate, with prominent midrib, dark green above, pale beneath, 3/4 – 1 1/4 in. long or shorter in some varieties: fr. 1/3 – 1/2 in. across, with almost globose disk, about a third longer than the broadly ellipsoid brown seed 1/4 in. long. Eu. and N. Afr. to Himalayas.—Many garden forms have originated in cult.; the following are the most important: Var. adpressa, Carr. (T. parvifolia, Wender. T. brevifolia, Hort., not Nutt. T. tardiva, Laws. T. baccata tardiva, Pilger). Shrub or low tree of irregular habit, with long spreading branches: lvs. oblong, obtusish, mucronulate, 1/3 – 1/2 in. long: disk of fr. shorter than the seed. Very distinct form. Var. adpressa erecta, Nichols. (var. adpressa stricta, Beissn.), has the foliage of the preceding, but erect branches forming a columnar bush. Var. aurea, Carr. (var. elvastonensis aurea, Beissn.). Lvs. golden yellow, more brightly colored at the tips and margin. This form has proved hardier than the type in New England. Var. argentea, Loud. (var. elegantissima, Hort.). Lvs. striped straw-yellow or sometimes whitish. Var. Dovastonii, Loud. Branches wide-spreading, nodding at the tips: lvs. dull green, short and abruptly mucronulate. G. 3:89. A very handsome form. Var. Dovastonii aureo-variegata, Beissn., is a form with the lvs. variegated with yellow. Var. erecta, Loud. (var. stricta, Hort.). Bushy form, with slender, upright branches and branchlets: lvs. narrower and smaller than in the type. Var. ericoides, Carr. (var. microphylla, Hort.). Dwarf form, with slender branches and small and very narrow, pointed leaves. Var. fastigiata, Loud. (T. hibernica, Hort.). Strictly fastigiate form, with stout crowded upright branches and branchlets: lvs. spirally arranged around the branches, dark glossy green. One of the most desirable evergreens of columnar habit for formal gardens. Var. fastigiata variegata, Carr. Less vigorous and more tender: lvs. marked yellowish white. Var. fastigiata aurea, Standish. Young growth golden yellow. Var. Fisheri, Hort. Some of the lvs. deep yellow, others green. Var. glauca, Carr. Vigorous form, with longer and narrower lvs. dark green above and with a glaucous bluish tint beneath. Var. Jacksonii, Gord. (var. pendula, Hort.). Branches spreading, pendulous at the tips, with more or less incurved lvs. Var. luteo-baccata, Pilger (var. fructu luteo, Loud.). With yellow fr. Var. procumbens, Loud. Prostrate shrub, with elongated and much ramified branches. Var. repandens, Hort. A low form with long wide-spreading branches and dull bluish green lvs. Var. Washingtonii, Beissn. Vigorous form, with longer lvs., partly colored golden yellow. The above text is from the Standard Cyclopedia of Horticulture. It may be out of date, but still contains valuable and interesting information which can be incorporated into the remainder of the article. Click on "Collapse" in the header to hide this text.

Gallery

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  Foliage of Irish Yew; note the leaves spreading all round the erect shoots

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  An Irish Yew (Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata')

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  photo 3

External links

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