The Yew is native and may be found in old woods although it is often seen in the artificial surroundings of estates or churchyards. Reenadina wood on the Muckross Peninsula, Co. Kerry is Ireland’s only native yew wood.
Common Yew belongs to the genus Taxus and is a member of the Yew family (Taxaceae).
Common yew (Taxus baccata) is an evergreen tree growing to 25m and flowering March to April.
Lifespan: probably the longest-lived species in northern Europe. Difficult to age with accuracy but may reach well over 1000 years.
Characteristics
Bark is reddish-brown and peeling. Leaves are small (10–25mm), needle-like, linear with a pointed tip, in two spreading rows along twigs. Dark green above, two paler bands below.
Common yew is dioecious, which means that male and female flowers grow on separate individual trees. Male flowers are globes of white-yellow anthers which shed pollen in early Spring. Female flowers are bud-like, scaly, green on emerging; becoming brown and resembling tiny acorns. A fleshy red ‘aril’ or outer growth enfolds the developing brown-black seed; the whole becoming a sweet, succulent fruit. Common yew is wind pollinated.
Common yew can reproduce vegetatively; mature trees produce new ones as the main branches reach the ground and take root.
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