Conifers - Taxaceae

English yew

Scientific name: Taxus baccata

Family: Taxaceae

Shape: a densely branched tree with a massive trunk, up to 20 m in height

Foliage: evergreen; linear to 3 cm long with pointed tip, appearing to spread in two rows on either side of shoot

Female cone: yew does not actually bear its seed in a cone. Each seed is enclosed in a fleshy, usually red, aril up to 1 cm in length and open at the tip.

Origin: North Africa, South-west Asia, Europe

Remark: some botanists consider that yew is not a true conifer since it does not bear its seeds in a cone. Yew is one of the three British native conifers.

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