2066 



ARBOR FTUM AND FRUTICETUM. 



Genus I. 



VART III. 



TA'XUS L. The Yew. Lin. St/si. Dioe^cia Monadelphia. 



Identification. Lin. Gen., 532. ; Juss, 412. ; Fl. Br., 1086. ; Tourn., t. 362. ; Lam., t. 829. : Gartn 

 t 81. ; N. Du Ham., 1. p. 61. ; Rich. Mem. Conif, p. 131. t. 2. 



Derivation. From loxon, a bow ; being formerly much used in making them : or from taxis, ar- 

 rangeraent ; from the leaves being arranged on the branches like the teeth of a comb : or from 

 toxicum, poison ; though Pliny says that poison {toxicum) was so named from this tree, which was 

 considered poisonous. The derivation of the term Yew is supposed to be from the Celtic word iw, 

 sometimes pronounced if, and signifying verdure ; alluding to the yew being an evergreen ; and 

 this will also explain the French name, if. 



Description, Sfc. Evergreen low trees, with numerous, mostly linear, and 

 entire leaves ; natives of Europe and North America. 



i. \. T. bacca'ta L The berried, or common, Yew 



Identification. Lin. Sp. PI., 1472. ; Willd. Sp., 4. p. 856. ; Fl. Br., 10S6. ; Eng. Bot., t 746 • Hook 

 Scot.,290.'i Lightf., 626. ; Fl. Dan., t. 1240 ; Bull. Fr., 1. 136. ; Dicks. H. Sice. Fasc , 16 fi • Ehrh' 

 Arb., 50. ; N. Du Ham., 1. p. 62. ; Eng. FL, 4. p. 252. ; Hook. Br. Fl., p. 434. ; Mackay Fl Hibern 

 p.259. ; Lindl. Synops.,p. 241. 



Synonymes. Taxus, No. 1663., Hall. Hist., 2. p. 322., Haii Syn., 445., Grr Em 1370 Sau/t 

 Hist., I. p 241., Maltli. Valgr., 2. p. 44k, Cam. Epit., 840.; If, Fr. ; Ifenbaum, Ihenbaum, or 

 Eihenbaum, Ger. ; Taxo, Itat. ; Tcxo Span. 



The Sexfs. The yew being almost always raised from seed, the male and female plants may be sup- 

 posed to be nearly equ.illy distributed, both in natural woods and in artificial plantations. Ac- 

 cording to.Miller and Lamarck, both sexes are sometimes found on the same tree ■ and the fact will 

 be found confirmed in a future page. As far as we have been able to observe, says White of Sel- 

 borne, the male tree becomes much larger than the female one. (Nat. Hist, nf .Selh ed 1789 ; 



Engravings. Enp. Bot., t. 746. ; Fl. Dan., t 1240. ; Bull. Fr., t. 136. ; Ger. Emac , l',370 f. ■ Banh 

 Hist , 1. p. 241. f ; Matth. Valgr., 2. p. 444. f. ; Cam. Epit., p. 840. f. ; N. Du Ham i' t 19 • 

 Blackw., t .572. ; Du Ham. Arb., 2. t. 86. : Oelhaf. Abbild., t. 23, 24. ; Gartn. Fruct. t. 91.' f 6- 

 and the plates of this tree in our last \olume. ' • • • 



Spec. Char., Sfc Leaves 2-rankcd, crowded, linear, flat. Receptacle of the 

 barren flowers gloljular. {Smith Eng. Ft.) A tree, indigenous to most 

 parts of Europe; flowering in March and April, and ripening its fruit in 

 September. 

 Varieties. 



-t T. b. 2 fastigiata ; T. fastigiiita Lindl. ; T. hibernica Hook., Lodd. Cat., 



ed. 18.36 ; our fig. 198 1 . of the natural size, and the plate of this tree 



in our last Volume. The upright, or 



Florence Court, Yew ; the Irish Yew. 



— This is a very distinct variety, readily 



distinguished from the species by its 



upright mode of growth, and deep 



green leaves, \\hich are not in ranks 



like those of the common yew, but 



scattered, as shown in fig. 1981. All 



the plants of this variety in cultivation 



are of the female sex ; and the fruit 



is oblong, and not roundish, as in the 



common variety. The finest spcci- ^ 



mens, Mr. Mackay informs us {Fl. 



Hihcin., p. 260.), grow at Comber, in 



the coimty of Down, and near the 



town of Antrim; where they are sup- 

 posed to have been planted before ^ 



1780. This variety was first observed 



at Florence Court, near which, on the ,=- 



mountains of Fermanagh, our corre- 

 spondent Mr. Young informs us, the 



original tree still exists in a healthy and ^ . >, ^ 



vigorous state, i^/^. 1982., to a scale , ■' 



of 1 in. to 1 2 ft., is a portrait of one of \- 



the trees at Comber, which grows in ') 1 98 1 



^'^ 



-^,^ 



