Yew Tree

Yew is a common name given to various species of trees. It is most prominently given to any of various

coniferous Conifers () are a group of conifer cone, cone-bearing Spermatophyte, seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the phylum, division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a sin ...

trees and shrubs in the genus ''

Taxus ''Taxus'' is a genus of coniferous trees or shrubs known as yews in the family Taxaceae. Yews occur around the globe in temperate zones of the northern hemisphere, northernmost in Norway and southernmost in the South Celebes. Some populations ex ...

'': * European yew or common yew (''

Taxus baccata ''Taxus baccata'' is a species of evergreen tree in the family (botany), family Taxaceae, native to Western Europe, Central Europe and Southern Europe, as well as Northwest Africa, and parts of Southwest Asia.Rushforth, K. (1999). ''Trees of Bri ...

'') * Pacific yew or western yew ('' Taxus brevifolia'') * Canadian yew ('' Taxus canadensis'') * Chinese yew (''

Taxus chinensis ''Taxus chinensis'' is a species of yew. It is commonly called the Chinese yew, though this term also refers to '' Taxus celebica'' or '' Taxus sumatrana''. The species was first described by Alfred Rehder in 1919 in the Journal of the Arnol ...

'') * Japanese yew (''

Taxus cuspidata ''Taxus cuspidata'', the Japanese yew or spreading yew, is a member of the genus ''Taxus'', native to Japan, Korea, northeast China and the extreme southeast of Russia. Names In Japan, the tree is known as ''ichi'i'' (一位), meaning "first ...

'') * Florida yew ('' Taxus floridana'') * Mexican yew ('' Taxus globosa'') * Sumatran yew (''

Taxus sumatrana ''Taxus sumatrana'', or the Sumatran yew, is a large evergreen shrub and one of the eight species of yew. Its taxonomic namesake is indicative of the species being found in Indonesia (specifically, the island of Sumatra); however, ''T. sumatrana ...

'') * Himalayan yew ('' Taxus wallichiana'') * '' Taxus masonii'' (Eocene fossil yew) It is also used for any of various coniferous plants in the families

Taxaceae Taxaceae (), commonly called the yew family, is a coniferous family (biology), family which includes six Extant taxon, extant and two extinct genera, and about 30 species of plants, or in older interpretations three genera and 7 to 12 species. ...

and Cephalotaxaceae: * White-berry yew ('' Pseudotaxus chienii'') * New Caledonian yew or southern yew (''

Austrotaxus ''Austrotaxus spicata'', the New Caledonia yew or southern yew, is a species of yew, the sole species in the genus ''Austrotaxus''. It is related to the other yews in the genera ''Taxus'' and '' Pseudotaxus''. It is endemic to New Caledonia, oc ...

spicata'') * Catkin-yew (''

Amentotaxus ''Amentotaxus'' is a genus of Pinophyta, conifers (catkin-yews) comprising five species, treated in either the Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The genus is endemic (ecology), endemic to subtr ...

sp.'') * Plum-yew (''

Cephalotaxus ''Cephalotaxus'', commonly called plum yew or cowtail pine, is a genus of conifers comprising 11 species, either considered the only member of the family Cephalotaxaceae, or in the Taxaceae when that family is considered in a broad sense. The gen ...

sp.'') Various coniferous plants in the family

Podocarpaceae Podocarpaceae is a large family of mainly southern hemisphere conifers, known in English as podocarps, comprising about 156 species of evergreen trees and shrubs.James E. Eckenwalder. 2009. ''Conifers of the World''. Portland, Oregon: Timber Pres ...

, superficially similar to other yews, are also known by this name: * Prince Albert's yew (''

Saxegothaea ''Saxegothaea'' is a genus comprising a single species, ''Saxegothaea conspicua''. It is a conifer in the podocarp family Podocarpaceae, native to southern South America. It grows in Chile and Argentina from 35° to 46° South latitude; in its no ...

conspicua'') * Plum-yew ('' Prumnopitys sp.'') {{Plant common name Shrubs