124 



The Yews 



entire on the margin and tapering to the short, yellowish leaf-stalk; they are thick 

 and leathery, dark yellowish green and shining above, paler, with a prominent yel- 

 lowish midrib, beneath. The flowers are bright yellow, the scales subtending 

 the staminate ovate, those of the pistillate flowers broader. The cup surround- 

 ing the fleshy seed is globose, 8 to 12 mm. long and brownish red. 



The wood is hard, brittle, but strong and elastic, close-grained, bright light 

 red; its specific gravity is about 0.64. It is very durable, and takes a fine poUsh 

 and is used for fence-posts, fancy cabinet work, bows, canoe paddles, and by the 

 Indians for spear-handles, and many other useful purposes. 



It is planted to some extent on the Pacific slope and in Europe for ornament, 

 but does not thrive in the eastern States. 



2. FLORIDA YEW — Taxus floridana NuttaU 



A much smaller tree, often a shrub, occurring with Torreya on river banks, in 

 a limited area of Gadsden county, Florida, where it is also called Yew and Savin, 

 and attains a maximum height of 7.5 meters with a trunk diameter of 3 dm. 



' Fig. 96. — Florida Yew. 



The trunk is short. The branches are stout and spreading, nearly horizontal. 

 The bark is about 3 mm. thick, smooth and close, except on very old trees, when 

 it sometimes separates irregularly into thin flat scales of a dark purplish brown 

 color. The twigs are slender, yellowish green, becoming dull brown or reddish. 

 The buds are about 4 mm. long; their imbricated scales are Ught yellow. The 



