VERY WHERE one goes nowadays the 
interest in Yew trees is fast increasing. 
No family of Evergreens has gained 
such popularity in recent years as the Yews. 
This interest is easily accounted for. The 
answer lies in the outstanding merit of the 
trees in richness of color, variation of form, 
ease of training and pruning, thriftiness of 
growth and adaptability to various soils and 
planting locations. 
In the opinion of some botanical authorities 
there is but one species of Yew, and all com- 
monly recognized species, such as the English, 
Japanese and American Yews are but geo- 
graphical variations of the same tree. Whether 
this is true or not, an essential difference exists 
in the greater hardiness of Japanese Yews as 
compared to the tender characteristics of the 
English Yews. This essential fact precludes 
the use of English Yews in the central part of 
our continent, where weather conditions are 
severe. Even in localities of less rigorous climate, the Japanese Yew in 
its numerous forms is replacing the English Yew. 
The Japanese Yew found its way to England and to Europe generally 
in the late 1840’s or early in the next decade. Robert Fortune, a hor- 
ticultural explorer of note, brought it to England in 1855, but there is 
some question if it was not introduced a short time earlier. The fact 
remains, however, that it was totally unknown to the world outside of 
Japan, less than a hundred years ago. It was probably about 1860 that 
Dr. George K. Hall first planted it in America in his New England 
garden. Following that time it was not generally recognized and used 
in America until the Holland nurserymen started selling it to their 
American customers many years later. 
As the Yews became more extensively planted in Eastern nurseries, 

Foliage and berries of Japanese Yew 
{1 natural size} 
THE JAPANESE YEWS 
many seeds were gathered and many new 
forms developed. Many nurserymen selected 
a few forms, many of which were in turn 
propagated by cuttings or grafts. This has 
led to a hopeless confusion of types and names. 
The Yew family, known botanically as 
Taxaceae, is composed of several genera, in- 
cluding Podocarpus, Cephlotaxus, and others. 
They belong to the conifers, although unlike 
true conifers, they are dioecious, the two sexes 
being on different plants. 
In the Taxus or Yew family there are 7 
species. Four of these are found in North 
America; one in Europe, two in Eastern Asia. 
Only one of the American species, a low bush, 
the American Yew (Taxus canadensis), a 
species which inhabits an extensive area in 
the northern forests of the United States, is of 
any importance as an ornamental tree. The 
other American species are scarcely known in 
horticulture, being confined to small localities 
in Florida, in the Far West, and in Mexico. 
The English Yews, or T’axus baccata, has been one of the most widely 
used Evergreen trees in England and European countries for centuries. 
A great many horticultural forms of it exist. The English Yews are 
hardy only in the localities with less rigorous climate and they are not 
dependable in the United States, except in the more temperate sections. 
This leaves only the Japanese species (Taxus cuspidata) together 
with its numerous horticultural varieties, and it is in this group that the 
greatest opportunity lies for horticultural development, and it is this 
group which we will illustrate and describe in this catalog. The leaves 
of the Yew are usually flat and in two rows or ranks along the branch- 
lets. In this respect all Yews are quite similar, a fact which accounts for 
the great difficulty experienced in identifying horticultural variations. 
Japanese Yew in Landscape Plantings 
HE Yew has long been known as a tree capable of withstanding heavy prun- 
ing. This accounts for its wide use as a hedge tree, its use in topiary work, 
for dwarf edging in flower beds, ete., and in confined areas such as foundation 
plantings where trees must be maintained in small size for many years. While it 
is true that Yew trees withstand considerable shade, they are also able to grow in 
the open sun, and in fact the growth in the sun is usually faster but otherwise no 
different than when planted in a protected shady spot. 
An unfounded opinion, which is rapidly being corrected, is the belief that the 
Japanese Yews are of questionable hardiness. Here in the Hill Nursery we have 
severe extremes of temperature, ranging from 100 or slightly more degrees in the 
summer, to a normal 15 degrees below zero in the winter. The Japanese Yews 
have not suffered unduly under our conditions of climate. They are planted with 
good success in the vicinity of Minneapolis and similar points of latitude. The 
only locality where the Yews suffer badly is in the Great Plains States where there 
are prolonged periods of severe heat and drouth. 
All of the Japanese Yews have certain characteristics in common. The needles 
are quite similar in appearance. They produce their fruit in the form of a fleshy, 
cup-shaped scarlet berry. Asa family they are unexcelled in their ability to thrive 
under city conditions and are remarkable in their resistance to smoke and gas. 








Be! 
The variation of forms in the Yew gives interesting contrasts 
1 


Japanese Yew makes a perfect tree for tall, medium or low 
hedges, informal or closely clipped 

Scarlet red fruits are always a striking 
contrast to the waxy green foliage 
