CHAPTER I 



Taxus baccata, L. Varieties Etymology of Yew Epithets. 



Taxus baccata, Linn., the Common Yew, belongs 

 to the genus Taxus, the type of the natural order 

 Taxacece, of which the species are evergreen trees 

 of low stature. The trunk rises usually from 5 to 

 10 feet from the ground, in rare instances reaching 

 15 to 20 feet, and then sending out numerous 

 spreading branches which form a dense head of 

 foliage, 30 to 50 feet in height, and 50 to 70 feet 

 in diameter. The tallest yew in England is that 

 at Harlington, near Hounslow, which, after being 

 cropped for many years, was allowed to revert to 

 its natural state when it attained the height of 

 58 feet. 



The flowers are inconspicuous, and come out in 

 Europe from March to May, according to eleva- 

 tion and latitude, the pale yellow anthers with their 

 abundant pollen growing on one tree, the berry, 

 acorn-like in form, growing separately on another. 

 The fruit ripens from September to November of 

 the year of flowering. 



There are only four species, says Du Hamel 

 du Monceau, one of which is common to Europe, 



