Yews 245 
talis in the stoutness of its branches and the rigid bristling, spreading 
foliage, picturesque rather than ornamental. It is also very hardy. 
YEWS 
Taxus. ‘This genus of small trees and shrubs, six species and many 
forms, furnishes some of the hardiest and most frugal conifers, well 
Fic 81 — English Yew Taxus baccate Linn. 
adapted for underplanting, as they bear shade well, indeed prefer shady 
positions, and grow very slowly; also wherever low forms are desired, 
and for hedges. Their rich, dark, glossy foliage, with a yellowish cast 
on the under side, give them somewhat of a funereal tone, which is 
increased by the remembrance of their frequent use in cemeteries, to 
which they lend themselves on account of their very slow growth and 
their small, compact form, especially in the fastigiate forms. ‘They are 
very useful in formal gardening and against formal architectural work. 
The red berries add to their attractiveness. They are usually planted 
as shiubs and in the many varieties of nurserymen’s forms. 
