Taxus. CONIFERS. 113 



A large tree, 61 to 92 metres in height, with a trunk 2.40 to 7 metres 

 in diameter ; sides of canons and valleys in low, wet situations, borders of 

 streams, etc. ; not appearing on dry hillsides; generally confined to slopes 

 facing the ocean, and nowhere extending far from the coast; most gen- 

 erally multiplied and reaching its greatest average density north of Cape 

 Mendocino. 



Wood light, soft, not strong, very brittle, rather coarse-grained, com- 

 pact, susceptible of a good polish, easily split and worked, very durable in 

 contact with the soil ; bands of small summer cells thin, dark-colored, con- 

 spicuous ; medullary rays numerous, very obscure ; color clear light red, 

 the thin sap-wood nearly white ; largely sawed into lumber ; the prevail- 

 ing and most valuable building material of the Pacific coast, and in Cali- 

 fornia almost exclusively used for shingles, fence-posts, telegraph-poles, 

 railway-ties, wine-butts, tanning- and water-tanks, coffins, etc.; forms 

 with curled or contorted grain are highly ornamental. 



343. Taxus brevifolia, Nutt. 

 Yew. 



Islands and Coast Ranges of British Columbia, through western and 

 the mountain ranges of eastern Washington and Oregon to the western 

 slopes of the Rocky Mountains of northern Montana ; through the Cali- 

 fornia Coast Ranges to the Bay of Monterey and along the western 

 slopes of the Sierra Nevad.is. 



A tree 18 to 24 metres in height, with a trunk O.fiO to 0.90 metre in 

 diameter, or toward its eastern limits in Idaho and Montana much smaller, 

 often reduced to a low shrub : rare ; low, rich woods and borders of 

 streams, reaching its greatest development in western Oregon, Washing- 

 ton, and British Columbia. 



Wood heavy, hard, strong, brittle, very close-grained, compact, suscep- 

 tible of a beautiful polish, very durable in contact with the soil ; bands of 

 small summer cells thin, dark-colored, conspicuous ; medullary rays thin, 

 numerous, very obscure-; color light bright red, the thin sap-wood light 

 yellow ; used for fence-posts and by the Indians of the northwest coast 

 for paddles, spear-handles, bows, fish-hooks, etc. 



344. Taxus Floridana, Nutt. 

 Yew. 



Western Florida, — banks of the Apalachicola River from Bristol to 

 Aspalaga. 



A small tree, 3 to 6 metres in height, with a trunk 0.15 to 0.2.5 metre 

 in diameter ; rare and very local. 



Wood heavy, hard, very , close-grained, compact ; bands of small sum- 

 mer cells very thin, dark-colored, not conspicuous ; medullary rays nu- 

 merous, obscure ; color dark brown tinged with red, the thin sap-wood 

 nearly white. 



