The yew
The Wood Guide · The forests
The forest series · tree portraitThe yew
One of the oldest trees in Europe, poisonous in every part but one, and the wood that decided medieval battles.
- Taxus baccata
- Can live >2,000 years
- Poisonous, except the red flesh
The yew in brief
A conifer that bears no cones but red berry-like seed coverings, and that lives longer than any other tree in our region.
The yew is an exception in almost every respect. It is a conifer without cones: the seed sits in a bright red, fleshy seed covering that looks like a berry. It grows extremely slowly, tolerates deep shade where nothing else grows, and sprouts again from old wood after hard pruning — something almost no other conifer can do.
And it grows old. Some European yews are estimated to be more than two thousand years old, which puts them among the oldest living things on the continent.
Yew wood combines two things that rarely go together: the pale sapwood is exceptionally strong in tension, the orange-red heartwood exceptionally strong in compression. A longbow made from a single piece of yew, with the sapwood on the outside and the heartwood on the inside, is therefore in effect a natural composite bow. That property decided medieval battles.
- Botanical
- Taxus baccata
- Age
- can live more than 2,000 years
- Seed
- red seed covering instead of a cone
- Poisonous
- every part except the red flesh
- Growth
- very slow; tolerates deep shade
- Distinctive
- sprouts again from old wood
To be fair: the yew is poisonous in every part — needles, bark, wood and the seed inside the berry. Only the red flesh around it is harmless. For horses and cattle a single mouthful is fatal, and sawdust from working the wood also calls for precautions. Don't plant it next to a pasture.
A conifer without cones
Red seed coverings
No cones, but bright red, fleshy casings around a single seed. Birds eat the flesh and spread the seed, which is poisonous itself but passes through undigested.
Flat, dark needles
In two rows along the twig, dark green on top and lighter underneath. No resin scent.
Flaking reddish-brown bark
On older trees the bark peels off in plates, revealing the twisted structure of the trunk.
Hollow old trunks
Very old yews are hollow inside — which is what makes estimating their age so difficult, because there are no growth rings left to count.
In pictures · Why the yew grows in churchyards
Schematic drawing.
Why the yew grows in churchyards
All over Western Europe yews stand in churchyards, often older than the church beside them. The explanations vary and do not rule each other out: the tree is evergreen and was therefore associated with eternity; it is poisonous, which kept livestock off consecrated ground; and churchyards were walled, so the trees survived the centuries there while elsewhere they were felled.
The English longbow
Yew wood was so sought after that England imported it in large quantities from continental Europe for centuries. In some regions the yew stocks were completely exhausted as a result.
Turning and carving
The orange-red heartwood with pale sapwood gives a spectacular contrast and is highly prized by woodturners. See the lathe.
Taxol
Paclitaxel, an active substance in chemotherapy, is extracted from yew bark and needles. Clippings from yew hedges are collected for this purpose.
Hedges
Because it is one of the few conifers that sprout again from old wood, yew tolerates being clipped tightly into a dense hedge.
Frequently asked questions about the yew
Is the yew poisonous?
Yes, in every part — needles, bark, wood and the seed. Only the red flesh around the seed is harmless. For horses and cattle a mouthful is fatal.
How old does a yew get?
Very old. Some European specimens are estimated at more than two thousand years, which puts them among the oldest living things on the continent.
Why are there yews in churchyards?
Several reasons at once: evergreen and therefore a symbol of eternity, poisonous and therefore keeping livestock away, and protected within the churchyard wall while elsewhere they were felled.
Why was yew wood so sought after for bows?
The sapwood is strong in tension and the heartwood strong in compression. A bow made from a single piece, with sapwood outside and heartwood inside, is therefore a natural composite bow.
The yew in perspective
Ancient, slow and poisonous — and yet clipped into the tightest hedges.
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Photo via Wikimedia Commons: Taxus baccata — Mykola Swarnyk, CC BY-SA 3.0