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Taxus brevifolia, the Pacific yew or western yew, is a species of tree in the yew family Taxaceae native to the Pacific Northwest of North America. It is a small evergreen conifer , thriving in moisture and otherwise tending to take the form of a shrub .
Taxaceae (/ t æ k ˈ s eɪ s i. iː,-ˌ aɪ /), commonly called the yew family, is a coniferous family which includes six extant and two extinct genera, and about 30 species of plants, or in older interpretations three genera and 7 to 12 species.
Taxus canadensis, the Canada yew [2] or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply as "yew", this species is also referred to as American yew or ground-hemlock. Most of its range is well north of the Ohio River.
The most distinct is the Sumatran yew (T. sumatrana, native to Sumatra and Celebes north to southernmost China), distinguished by its sparse, sickle-shaped yellow-green leaves. The Mexican yew (Taxus globosa, native to eastern Mexico south to Honduras) is also relatively distinct with foliage intermediate between Sumatran yew and the other ...
Yew wood was historically important, finding use in the Middle Ages in items such as musical instruments, furniture, and longbows. The species was felled nearly to extinction in much of Europe. In the modern day it is not considered a commercial crop due to its very slow growth, but it is valued for hedging and topiary. [2]
One trunk of the Fortingall Yew. The tree's once massive trunk (52 ft or 16 m in girth when it was first recorded in writing, in 1769 [5]) with a former head of unknown original height, is split into several separate stems, giving the impression of several smaller trees, with loss of the heartwood rings that would establish its true age. [6]