The English Yew

Yew Berry by Didier Descouens CC BY-SA 3.0

The English Yew, (Taxus baccata), one of the few native British evergreens is renowned for it’s longevity & it’s poison, Taxin. The name ‘taxus’ may be related to the Greek ‘toxon’ (bow) and ‘toxicon’ the poison with which arrowheads were dressed. Yew is poisonous, leave the berries for the birds.