Taxonomy and naming

The word yew is from Proto-Germanic *wa-, possibly originally a loanword from
Gaulish *ivos, compare Irish o, Welsh ywen, French if (see Eihwaz for a discussion).
Baccata is Latin for bearing red berries. The word yew as it was originally used
seems to refer to the color brown.[3] The yew () was known to Theophrastus,
who noted its preference for mountain coolness and shade, its evergreen character
and its slow growth.[4]

Most Romance languages, with the notable exception of French, kept a version of
the Latin word taxus (Italian tasso, Corsican tassu, Occitan teis, Catalan teix,
Gasconic tech, Spanish tejo, Portuguese teixo, Galician teixo and Romanian tis)
from the same root as toxic. In Slavic languages, the same root is preserved:
Russian tis (), Slovakian tis, Slovenian tisa, Serbian-Croatian-Bosnian tisa/.
Albanian borrowed it as tis.

In German it is known as Eibe.

In Iran, the tree is known as sorkhdr (Persian: , literally "the red tree").

The common yew was one of the many species first described by Linnaeus. It is one
of around 30 conifer species in seven genera in the family Taxaceae, which is placed
in the order Pinales.
Description
Seeds of Taxus baccata

It is a small to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 1020 metres (3366 ft)

(exceptionally up to 28 metres (92 ft)) tall, with a trunk up to 2 metres (6 ft 7 in)
(exceptionally 4 metres (13 ft)) diameter. The bark is thin, scaly brown, coming off
in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leaves are flat, dark green, 14
centimetres (0.391.57 in) long and 23 millimetres (0.0790.118 in) broad,
arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in
two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the
spiral arrangement is more obvious. The leaves are poisonous.[1][5]

The seed cones are modified, each cone containing a single seed, which is 47
millimetres (0.160.28 in) long, and partly surrounded by a fleshy scale which
develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril. The aril is 815
millimetres (0.310.59 in) long and wide and open at the end. The arils mature 6 to
9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained, are eaten by thrushes,
waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their
droppings. Maturation of the arils is spread over 2 to 3 months, increasing the
chances of successful seed dispersal. The seeds themselves are poisonous and
bitter, but are opened and eaten by some bird species including hawfinches,[6]
greenfinches and great tits.[7] The aril is not poisonous, it is gelatinous and very
sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 36 millimetres (0.120.24 in) diameter,
and shed their pollen in early spring. The yew is mostly dioecious, but occasional
individuals can be variably monoecious, or change sex with time.[1][5][8]
Longevity

Taxus baccata can reach 400 to 600 years of age. Some specimens live longer but
the age of yews is often overestimated.[9] Ten yews in Britain are believed to
predate the 10th century.[10] The potential age of yews is impossible to determine
accurately and is subject to much dispute. There is rarely any wood as old as the
entire tree, while the boughs themselves often become hollow with age, making
ring counts impossible. Evidence based on growth rates and archaeological work of
surrounding structures suggests the oldest yews, such as the Fortingall Yew in
Perthshire, Scotland, may be in the range of 2,000 years,[11][12][13] placing them
among the oldest plants in Europe. One characteristic contributing to yew's
longevity is that it is able to split under the weight of advanced growth without
succumbing to disease in the fracture, as do most other trees. Another is its ability
to give rise to new epicormic and basal shoots from cut surfaces and low on its
trunk, even at an old age.[citation needed]
Significant trees
The Llangernyw Yew

The Fortingall Yew in Perthshire, Scotland, has the largest recorded trunk girth in
Britain and experts estimate it to be 2,000 to 3,000 years old, although it may be a
remnant of a post-Roman Christian site and around 1,500 years old.[14] The
Llangernyw Yew in Clwyd, Wales, can be found at an early saint site and is about
1,500 years old.[15] Other well known yews include the Ankerwycke Yew, the
Balderschwang Yew, the Caesarsboom, the Florencecourt Yew, and the Borrowdale

Fraternal Four, of which poet William Wordsworth wrote. The Kingley Vale National
Nature Reserve in West Sussex has one of Europe's largest yew woodlands.
Estry Yew, Normandy, around 1,600 years old

The oldest specimen in Spain is located in Bermiego, Asturias. It is known as Teixu

l'Iglesia in the Asturian language. It stands 15 m (49 ft) tall with a trunk diameter of
6.82 m (22.4 ft) and a crown diameter of 15 m. It was declared a Natural Monument
on April 27, 1995 by the Asturian Government and is protected by the Plan of
Natural Resources.[16]

A unique forest formed by Taxus baccata and European box (Buxus sempervirens)
lies within the city of Sochi, in the Western Caucasus.
Allergenic potential

Yews in this genus are primarily separate-sexed, and males are extremely
allergenic, with an OPALS allergy scale rating of 10 out of 10. Completely female
yews have an OPALS rating of 1, and are considered "allergy-fighting".[17] Male
yews bloom and release abundant amounts of pollen in the spring; completely
female yews only trap pollen while producing none.[17]
Toxicity

All parts of a yew plant are toxic to humans with the exception of the yew berries
(however, their seeds are toxic); additionally, male and monoecious yews in this
genus release cytotoxic pollen, which can cause headaches, lethargy, aching joints,
itching, and skin rashes; it is also a trigger for asthma.[17][18] These pollen
granules are extremely small, and can easily pass through window screens.[17]
[need quotation to verify]

The foliage itself remains toxic even when wilted, and toxicity increases in potency
when dried.[19] Ingestion and subsequent excretion by birds whose beaks and
digestive systems do not break down the seed's coating are the primary means of
yew dispersal.[20] The major toxin within the yew is the alkaloid taxine.[21] Horses
have a relatively low tolerance to taxine, with a lethal dose of 200400 mg/kg body
weight; cattle, pigs, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable.[22] Several
studies[23] have found taxine LD50 values under 20 mg/kg in mice and rats.

Symptoms of yew poisoning include an accelerated heart rate, muscle tremors,

convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, circulation impairment and eventually
cardiac arrest. However, there may be no symptoms, and if poisoning remains
undetected death may occur within hours.[24] Fatal poisoning in humans is very
rare, usually occurring after consuming yew foliage. The leaves are more toxic than
the seed.[21]
Uses and traditions
Foliage of Irish yew, Taxus baccata 'Fastigiata'; note the leaves spreading all round
the erect shoots

One of the world's oldest surviving wooden artifacts is a Clactonian yew[25] spear
head, found in 1911 at Clacton-on-Sea, in Essex, UK. It is estimated to be about
450,000 years old.[26]

In the ancient Celtic world, the yew tree (*eburos) had extraordinary importance; a
passage by Caesar narrates that Catuvolcus, chief of the Eburones poisoned himself
with yew rather than submit to Rome (Gallic Wars 6: 31). Similarly, Florus notes that
when the Cantabrians were under siege by the legate Gaius Furnius in 22 BC, most
of them took their lives either by the sword, by fire, or by a poison extracted ex
arboribus taxeis, that is, from the yew tree (2: 33, 5051). In a similar way, Orosius
notes that when the Astures were besieged at Mons Medullius, they preferred to die
by their own swords or by the yew tree poison rather than surrender (6, 21, 1).
Religion
Door of the Chapel in a Norman yew

The yew is often found in churchyards in England, Wales, Scotland, Ireland, France
and northern areas of Spain. Some examples can be found in La Haye-de-Routot or
La Lande-Patry. It is said that up to 40 people could stand inside one of the La-Hayede-Routot yew trees and the Le Mnil-Ciboult yew is probably the largest one (13 m
diameter[27]). Indeed, some of these trees are exceptionally large (over 5 m
diameter) and may be over 2,000 years old. Sometimes monks planted yews in the
middle of their cloister, as at Muckross Abbey (Ireland) or abbaye de Jumiges
(France). Some ancient yew trees are located at St Mary the Virgin Church, Overtonon-Dee in Wales.

In Asturian tradition and culture the yew tree has had a real link with the land, the
people, the ancestors and the ancient religion. It was tradition on All Saints Day to
bring a branch of a yew tree to the tombs of those who had died recently so they
will find the guide in their return to the Land of Shadows. The yew tree has been
found near chapels, churches and cemeteries since ancient times as a symbol of the
transcendence of death, and is usually found in the main squares of the villages
where people celebrated the open councils that served as a way of general
assembly to rule the village affairs.[28]

It has been suggested that the Sacred Tree at the Temple at Uppsala was an ancient
yew tree.[29][30] The Christian church commonly found it expedient to take over
existing pre-Christian sacred sites for churches. It has also been suggested that
yews were planted at religious sites as their long life was suggestive of eternity, or
because being toxic they were seen as trees of death.[31] Another suggested
explanation is that yews were planted to discourage farmers and drovers from
letting animals wander onto the burial grounds, the poisonous foliage being the
disincentive. A further possible reason is that fronds and branches of yew were
often used as a substitute for palms on Palm Sunday.[32][33][34]

In traditional Germanic paganism, Yggdrasill was often seen as a giant ash tree.
[citation needed] Many scholars now agree that in the past an error has been made
in the interpretation of the ancient writings, and that the tree is most likely a
European yew (Taxus baccata). This mistake would find its origin in an alternative
word for the yew tree in the Old Norse, namely needle ash (barraskr). In addition,
ancient sources, including the Eddas, speak about a vetgrnster vida which means
"evergreen tree". An ash sheds its leaves in the winter, while yew trees retain their
needles.

Conifers were in the past often seen as sacred, because they never lose their green.
In addition, the tree of life was not only an object from the stories, but also believers
often gathered around an existing tree. The yew releases gaseous toxins (taxine) on
hot days. Taxine is in some instances capable of causing hallucinations. This has
some similarities with the story that Odin had a revelation (the wisdom of the runes)
after having been hanging from the tree for nine days.[citation needed]
Medical

Certain compounds found in the bark of yew trees were discovered by Wall and
Wani in 1967 to have efficacy as anti-cancer agents. The precursors of the

chemotherapy drug paclitaxel (taxol) was later shown to be synthesized easily from
extracts of the leaves of European yew,[35] which is a much more renewable source
than the bark of the Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia) from which they were initially
isolated. This ended a point of conflict in the early 1990s; many environmentalists,
including Al Gore, had opposed the destructive harvesting of Pacific yew for
paclitaxel cancer treatments. Docetaxel can then be obtained by semi-synthetic
conversion from the precursors.
Woodworking and longbows
Bole of an ancient yew in Pont-de-Buis-ls-Quimerch, Brittany

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.[36]

A 250,000 year old yew spearhead was found at Clacton-on-Sea.[37]

Yew is also associated with Wales and England because of the longbow, an early
weapon of war developed in northern Europe, and as the English longbow the basis
for a medieval tactical system. The oldest surviving yew longbow was found at
Rotten Bottom in Dumfries and Galloway, Scotland. It has been given a calibrated
radiocarbon date of 4040 BC to 3640 BC and is on display in the National Museum
of Scotland. Yew is the wood of choice for longbow making; the heartwood is always
on the inside of the bow with the sapwood on the outside. This makes most efficient
use of their properties as heartwood is best in compression whilst sapwood is
superior in tension. However, much yew is knotty and twisted, and therefore
unsuitable for bowmaking; most trunks do not give good staves and even in a good
trunk much wood has to be discarded.

There was a tradition of planting yew trees in churchyards throughout Britain and
Ireland, among other reasons, as a resource for bows. "Ardchattan Priory whose yew
trees, according to other accounts, were inspected by Robert the Bruce and cut to
make at least some of the longbows used at the Battle of Bannockburn."[38]

The trade of yew wood to England for longbows was so robust that it depleted the
stocks of good-quality, mature yew over a vast area. The first documented import of

yew bowstaves to England was in 1294. In 1350 there was a serious shortage, and
Henry IV of England ordered his royal bowyer to enter private land and cut yew and
other woods. In 1423 the Polish king commanded protection of yews in order to cut
exports, facing nearly complete destruction of local yew stock.[39] In 1470
compulsory archery practice was renewed, and hazel, ash, and laburnum were
specifically allowed for practice bows. Supplies still proved insufficient, until by the
Statute of Westminster in 1472, every ship coming to an English port had to bring
four bowstaves for every tun.[40] Richard III of England increased this to ten for
every tun. This stimulated a vast network of extraction and supply, which formed
part of royal monopolies in southern Germany and Austria. In 1483, the price of
bowstaves rose from two to eight pounds per hundred, and in 1510 the Venetians
would only sell a hundred for sixteen pounds. In 1507 the Holy Roman Emperor
asked the Duke of Bavaria to stop cutting yew, but the trade was profitable, and in
1532 the royal monopoly was granted for the usual quantity "if there are that
many." In 1562, the Bavarian government sent a long plea to the Holy Roman
Emperor asking him to stop the cutting of yew, and outlining the damage done to
the forests by its selective extraction, which broke the canopy and allowed wind to
destroy neighbouring trees. In 1568, despite a request from Saxony, no royal
monopoly was granted because there was no yew to cut, and the next year Bavaria
and Austria similarly failed to produce enough yew to justify a royal monopoly.
Forestry records in this area in the 17th century do not mention yew, and it seems
that no mature trees were to be had. The English tried to obtain supplies from the
Baltic, but at this period bows were being replaced by guns in any case.[41]