Taxus baccata – European Yew - English Yew

General Information Common Name  European Yew, English Yew Scientific Name  Taxus Baccata Sun Tolerance  Full Sun Height  10 - 20 m (33 - 66 ft) Spread  10 - 15 m (33 - 50 ft) Growth Rate  Slow Bloom Time  Spring Color  Green, Flower Color  Yellow Type  Tree Native  USA, Asia, Europe.

Classification Kingdom  Plantae – Plants Subkingdom  Tracheobionta – Vascular plants Superdivision Spermatophyta – Seed plants Division  Coniferophyta – Conifers Class  Pinopsida Subclass  Order  Taxales Family  Taxaceae – Yew family Genus  Taxus L. –  Yew Species  T. baccata

Taxus baccata - Yew

Taxus baccata commonly known as Yew also known as EuropeanYew, also famous in English Yew, is native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. It is best known conifers, having an association with bows and with churchyards, being a symbol of mourning, and having a wealth of legend. It ranges from old gnarled specimens in churchyards to young seedlings and isolated trees scattered throughout woodlands, and to natural groups and rows, bereft of undergrowth, appearing on chalk and limestone formations. It is usually seen as a rounded, densely branched tree, rarely of treat height but often with a massive fluted trunk.

T. baccata is slow growing tree. It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 m (33–66 ft) (exceptionally up to 28 m (92 ft)) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m (6 ft 7 in) (exceptionally 4 m (13 ft)) diameter. The small green buds have leafy scales that are free at the tips. The needles are arranged spirally around the green shoots, but by means of a twist they are spread into more or less two ranks. They are 2-4 cm in length, and end in a horny point. The upper surface is dark, glossy green; the lower is yellowish-green. They are waxy, though the whole tree is non-resinous.

Male and female flowers normally, but not always, grow on separate trees. The males appear as small yellow globose structures arising from the leaf axils on the undersides of branches of the previous year’s growth. The females grow in similar positions but are minute and solitary consisting of greenish-yellow overlapping aping. They swell to form the spherical fruit, and olive-green hard seed surrounded by an aril, which is green at first, and in august turns to pink or scarlet, and becomes fleshy and sweet. This whole fruit lies in a dull green cup.

Taxus baccata - Yew

The bark is thin, scaly, and dark reddish or greyish-brown, becoming deeply furrowed in age, and breaking away in long flakes. The outer bark has a satiny red under-surface. The bole is often fluted. The bark, shoots, leaves, and seeds are poisonous. Coppice shoots arise from the stump when a tree is felled. The wood is very strong, tough, elastic, hard, heavy and naturally durable. The narrow sapwood is white, the heartwood deep golden or red-brown. The timber is scarce in large sizes, but may be used for posts or stakes, while craftsmen employ selected material for decorative tables, cabinets, wood sculpture and turned articles such as bowls.

Today European yew is widely used in landscaping and ornamental horticulture. Due to its dense, dark green, mature foliage, and its tolerance of even very severe pruning, it is used especially for formal hedges and topiary. From the days of the formal garden, Yew has been used for evergreen hedges. It stands unlimited clipping, and thus is the plant most used for topiary – the peculiar art of training trees into unnatural shapes. Many large, gnarled Yews in churchyards, with their tenacious hold on life, must be over seven hundred years in age. Wood from the yew is classified as a closed-pore softwood, similar to cedar and pine. Easy to work, yew is among the hardest of the softwoods; yet it possesses a remarkable elasticity, making it ideal for products that require springiness, such as bows.

Yew Young Plant

Taxus baccata Young Plants

Leaves of Yew

Taxus baccata Leaves

Flowers of Yew

Fruits of Yew

Taxus baccata Fruits

 Yew Fruits

Fruits of Taxus baccata - Yew

Bark of Yew

Log of Yew

Taxus baccata Log

Taxus baccata Log

Taxus baccata - Yew as Ornamental Plant

Ornamental plant of Yew

Taxus baccata Ornamental Plant

Taxus baccata - Yew

Taxus baccata - Yew

Taxus baccata - Yew

Taxus baccata - Yew

Video of Yew: