#yew

Design ideas for a large traditional partial sun side yard concrete paver landscaping in summer.

•

A woodland tree that despite the common name grows across much of Eurasia and Northwest Africa. European Yew and Common Yew are more accurate.

First described in 1753 by Carl Linnaeus in his Species Plantarum, despite 108 synonyms given by later taxonomists. Taxus was perhaps derived from the Greek toxon, for bow, since the wood was prized for the production of longbows. Baccata is Latin for 'bearing berries', after the fleshy outer covering of mature cones. That fleshy covering is the only part of the plant that isn't dangerously poisonous, and the toxins can be inhaled, eaten, or absorbed through the skin. As a bonus, the pollen is highly allergenic.

The word yew is from Old English īw, ēow, but goes back to the Proto-Indo-European *h₁eyHw-.

Very popular ornamental tree in botanical gardens, and as hedges, topiaries, and in churchyards. Folklore associates them with death, immortality, and rebirth, although the latter seems unlikely as there is no antidote to yew poisoning. 50g of yew needles is enough to kill. The trees can reach 1500 years of age, and a trunk diameter of 4m, so 'immortal' is on the right track, at least.

In the wild they grow best on steep, calcareous slopes, and survive in dense shade cast by larger trees.

Historically, yew populations were felled almost to extinction for longbows or destroyed to protect livestock. They are now endangered due to intensive land use, and 'harvesting' to meet pharmaceutical demand for taxanes for chemotherapy. Since the trees are very slow-growing, they are not considered a commercial crop.