226 



NOTES ON THE VAEIETIES OF COMMON TEW 



[Taxus haccata). 



(Read before the Floral Committee of the Royal Horticultural Society.) 



As many of our favourite evergreens, 

 hitherto reputed hardy, have been seriously 

 damaged or destroyed by the last winter's 

 frost, we turn with increased interest to 

 those which remain to us uninjured. Bays, 

 evergreen oaks, arbiitus, euonyinus, laii- 

 reslinus, common laurels, cypress, and, 

 in some cases, Portugal laurels are killed. 

 Araucarias, deodaras, and some other 

 Soutli American and Indian beauties have 

 in many places complexions as brown as 

 gronnd rhubarb ; Phillyreas and more 

 hardy evergreens are stripped of their 

 leaves. But our native plant, tlie common 

 yew, is safe ; none of the varieties have a 

 leaf injured in tliis valley of the Lea, 

 where the thermometer on Christmas-day 

 was f\.\Q degrees below zero. 



The common yew is, no doubt, well 

 known to every observer, but perhaps the 

 numerous and beautiful forms which have 

 descended from it are as yet strangers to 

 the many. It is these varieties which I 

 would now attempt to describe. Tliey are 

 many in number, beautiful in appearance, 

 and vary greatly among themselves. Neat, 

 graceful, elegant, picturesque, sombre, mas- 

 sive, grand, are terms which may be ap- 

 propriately used to one or the other of them. 



It is my present intention to look at 

 them from one point of view only, and that 

 a popular one — their value as ornamental 

 trees in garden scenery— and so regarded, 

 they seem to fall naturally into four groups, 

 viz. : — 



Group 1. — Varieties of a spreading hahit, 

 of wliich the common yew is the type. 



Group 2. — Varieties of pijranudal or 

 columnar habit, of which tlie Irish yew is 

 the type. 



Group 3. — Varieties of weeping hahit. 



Group 4. — Varieties tcilh variegated 

 foli'ige. 



Group 1. — Yarietie.s of spreading 



HABIT. 



1. T. BACCATA, common yew. 



2. T. B. FRuciu-LUTEO, the yellow- 

 berried yew. This is one of the most ele- 

 gant ; the pulp surrounding the seed is of 

 a dull yellow colour instead of red, as in the 

 ordinary kind. The growth is vigorous ; 

 the leaves are of a very pleasing green 

 medium tint. 



3. T. B. NiGBA. This is a striking 

 plant of bold and rather upright growth, 

 ihe leaves are of a bluish or blackish- 



green. It flowers abundantly, and is very 

 effective in the landscape, forming a some- 

 what sombre, but grand and massive tree. 



4. T. B. PKOCUMBENS fomis a huge 

 spreading bush ; leaves bright green, the 

 plant looked at as a whole, having a red- 

 dish appearance. 



Group 2. — Yahieties of pybamidal, 



OK COLUMNAR HABIT. 



5. T. B. FA-STiGiATA, the Irish, or Flo- 

 rence-court yew, is a plant of rigid growth, 

 columnar in form ; leaves dark green. 

 This, plant is too familiar to require an 

 extended notice, although very useful in 

 formal gardening. Seeds of this variety 

 produce for the most part the common yew, 

 but some vary in form and tint. 



6. T. B. CHESUUNTENSi.s,is a very grace- 

 ful variety, of pyramidal growth, the leaves 

 small and closely set on the branches; the 

 colour is of a bright glossy green. It 

 appears to stand midway between the com- 

 mon and Irish yew, but is less formal than 

 the latter and grows twice as fast. This 

 variety was raised by me some years ago, 

 from seeds of the Irish yew. 



7. T. B. PYRAMiDALis. This variety re- 

 sembles Chesliuntcnsis in outward form, the 

 leaves are, liowever, broader and shorter, 

 and the bark of the young shoots reddish. 



8. T. B. NiDPATHENSis, the Nidpath 

 Yew, resembles Cheshuntensis in the leaf, 

 branch, and colour of the foliage, but is of 

 stiiTer growth, being columnar rather than 

 pyramidal in habit, Aviih a disposition to 

 spread at the top. 



9. T. B. STBicTA is similar to the pre- 

 ceding, but with smaller and paler green 

 leaves ; it is almost as erect as the Irish 

 yew, and forms a compact dense tree. 

 This is a seedling from the Irish yew, 

 raised from the same batch as Cheshunt- 

 ensis. 



10. T. B. NANA is a neat plant of dwarf 

 habit, and compact upright growth ; the 

 leaves of a dark and more glossy green 

 than the common yew. It appears equally 

 suitable for a single tree on the lawn, for 

 planting in masses, for the shrubbery, or 

 fur a dwarf hedge in a geometrical garden. 

 This also is one of my seedlings raised 

 from the Iiish yew. 



11. T. B. IKECTA is similar to the pre- 

 ceding, but of larger growth, although 

 with smaller leaves. 



12. I. B. ERECTA Crowdebi, the va- 



