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Taxus baccata
A mature yew is compelling for its dense, dark evergreen foliage and buttressed trunk that has a colour close to mahogany.
Yew has a unique and remarkable association with churchyards where it was planted over graves to protect and purify the dead, and also for more mundane reasons such as being planted on a protected site to provide wood for long bows and to keep poisonous foliage out of reach of browsing cattle. It is also used for providing decoration for churches.
Yew is concentrated in south-east and central England. It is primarily found in churchyards and woodland.
It is principally a species of well-drained chalk and limestone soils. In ancient woods it grows alongside ash, maple and beech.
The best time to spot Yew is over the winter, specifically in November, December and January.
It’s important to note that every part of the yew is poisonous except the flesh of its red berrylike fruit (the aril), although even that contains a toxic seed. The aril is slightly sweet which makes it tempting for children. Eating just a few seeds or a handful of leaves causes gastrointestinal problems, a dangerous drop in pulse rate and possible heart failure. Many victims are found dead and therefore are never able to describe their symptoms. Suicide by Yew was a way of avoiding defeat in Ceasar’s Gallic Wars.
However, Yews do contain an alkaloid named taxol which seems to be effective against ovarian, breast and lung cancers. Drug companies and research laboratories are offering to buy the foliage in bulk.
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