596 



TAXACE/E 



acute, leathery, about i in. long, poliskcd above, lighter beneath, 

 in 2 rows on the twigs from a twisting of their bases ; siajiiinate, 

 flower oval, with 5 — iJ peltate anthers each 4 — 8-chambered, with 

 imbricate scales below; ovule solitary, terminal, erect, green, with 

 some scales below, surrounded later by a bright rose-red, fleshy, 

 cup-shaped aril, aboul \ in. across. — AVoo^ls and hillsides, chiefly 

 on calcareous soil; frequent. The jwood was formerly much 

 used for bows. The leaves have often proved fatal to (-attle and 

 children ; but the aril, though insipid, is harmless. (Name, the 

 Classical Latin name.) — Fl. March, April. Perennial. 



* T. jastigidta (the Irish or Florence Court Yew), originally 

 found at Florence Court, Enniskillen, is a variety with erects 

 fastigiate branches. 



