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Taxus (ancient Latin name of the yew). Taxaceae, formerly named in the Coniferae. Yew. Ornamental woody plants, grown for their dark green foliage and the scarlet berry-like fruits.
Evergreen trees or shrubs: lvs. linear, without resin-ducts, pale or yellowish green beneath, usually 2-ranked: fls. usually dioecious, solitary and axillary, rarely terminal, small, appearing in early spring; staminate globose, composed of 4-8 stamens each, with 3-8 anther-cells attached to the peltate connective; pistillate consisting of a single terminal ovule with several bracts at the base: seed a bony nut surrounded or almost inclosed by a fleshy cup-shaped scarlet disk; cotyledons 2.—Six species are known. They are distributed throughout the northern hemisphere and in Amer. south to Mex. They are all very closely allied and have been considered geographical varieties of a single species. The wood is heavy, hard, close-grained, strong, elastic, and of reddish color. It is highly valued for cabinet-making and turning, and before the invention of gunpowder was in great request in England for the manufacture of bows. The foliage is poisonous to horses and cattle, but the berries are not.
The yews are evergreen, usually small slow-growing trees or shrubs, with 2-ranked linear dark green leaves, insignificant flowers and showy berry-like red fruits. The best-known species is T. baccata, which is hardy as far north as Rhode Island and northwestern New York, and in some forms as far as Massachusetts, while T. cuspidata and T. canadensis are considerably hardier and thrive as far north as Canada; the other species are little known in cultivation. The yews are very desirable evergreens for park planting; they are densely clothed with dark green foliage and the pistillate plants are particularly beautiful in autumn when loaded with scarlet fruits. They are well suited for hedges and easily trimmed into any desired shape. They were formerly much used for fantastic topiary work (see e. g., G.C. II. 2:264, 265).
That the typical tree-like, form of the yew is nowadays not much planted is chiefly due to its slow growth, but the numerous mostly shrubby garden forms are popular plants for small gardens. The yews thrive best in a moderately moist sandy loam and endure shade well. Large plants may be successfully transplanted if it is possible to secure a sufficient ball of earth with the roots. Propagation is by seeds, which do not germinate until the second year, and by cuttings taken early in autumn and kept during the winter in a cool greenhouse or frame; the varieties also often by grafting on the type in early spring in the greenhouse, or sometimes by layers. Plants raised from cuttings grow more slowly than grafted ones and cuttings of the type rarely grow into trees but usually into low-spreading shrubs (see M.D.G. 1898:565).
T. floridana, Chapm. Bushy tree, 25 ft. high or sometimes shrubby: lvs. slender, 3/4 - 1 in. long, dark green. Fla. S.S. 10:515. —T. koraiensis, Hort.-Cephalotaxus Harringtonia var. fastigiata. —T. Wallichiana, Zucc. Tree, to 100ft.: lvs. gradually long-acuminate, 1-1 1/2 in. long. Himalayas, Malay Archipelago, Philippine Isls. Apparently not in cult.
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