Contjera— Taxus. 453 
Trise IIL.—T7A NINE. 
Fertile flower solitary, ripening into a fleshy fruit. 
21, TAXUS. 
Evergreen usually dicecious shrubs or trees with scattered or 
distrchous linear decurrent leaves. Male flowers in small glo- 
bular catkins. Female flowers solitary, bracteate at the base, 
with one erect seed seated on a disk which enlarges into a 
coloured fleshy cup around the lower part of the seed. The forms 
of Yew are numerous, and the extreme ones very distinct ; but 
there are probably not more than three or four species and 
perhaps only one. They are found in temperate regions through- 
out Europe, Asia and North America. Taxus is the classical 
name of the Common Yew, but its derivation is disputed and 
variously explained. The most probable is from rofov, a bow, 
in allusion to the use made of the wood. 
1. 7. baccata. Common Yew,—This tree is remarkable for its 
slow growth and sombre foliage, enlivened in Autumn by the 
small scarlet fruits. It is indigenous in Britain, and many 
fine old trees exist, especially in burial grounds. Besides the 
ordinary form, which it is unnecessary to describe, there are 
many others of garden or wild origin, some of them very 
striking. The most familiar is the variety fustigiata or Irish 
Yew, easily recognised by its close erect habit and very dark 
green foliage. T. baccata Dovastoni, Weeping Yew, is re- 
markable for its drooping habit. The American form, Cana- 
dénsis, isa dwarf straggling shrub with rather shorter leaves 
than the English Yew. In America it bears the name of 
Ground Hemlock. Hibérnica has spreading branches ; eri- 
covdes unusually small foliage ; eréctu, syn. stricta and pyra- 
middalis, is very distinct, branching from the base, forming many 
slender nearly erect stems; Cheshwntiénsis is a fast-growing 
variety, intermediate in habit between the common and Irish 
Yews, with bright glossy foliage. Jucksonii, gracilis, nana, 
Mitchélla or sparsifolia, horizontalis, etc., are slight varieties 
scarcely worthy of discrimination. The variety glatica is de- 
scribed as desirable and rapid growing, having the foliage 
silvery on the lower surface. Some of the variegated varieties 
are very handsome when planted in cool shady places. The 
gold and silver striped aiirea variegria and argéntea variegata, 
