Yews 



245 



talis in the stoutness of its branches and the rigid bristling, spreading 

 foliage, picturesque rather than ornamental. It is also very hardy. 



YEWS 



Taxus. This genus of small trees and shrubs, six species and many 

 forms, furnishes some of the hardiest and most frugal conifers, well 



Fig. 81. — English Yew. Taxus baccata Linn. 



adapted for underplanting, as they bear shade well, indeed prefer shady 

 positions, and grow very slowly; also wherever low forms are desired, 

 and for hedges. Their rich, dark, glossy foliage, with a yellowish cast 

 on the under side, give them somewhat of a funereal tone, which is 

 increased by the remembrance of their frequent use in cemeteries, to 

 which they lend themselves on account of their very slow growth and 

 their small, compact form, especially in the fastigiate forms. They are 

 very useful in formal gardening and against formal architectural work. 

 The red berries add to their attractiveness. They are usually planted 

 as shrubs and in the many varieties of nurserymen's forms. 



