{"id":21737,"date":"2022-10-31T16:06:15","date_gmt":"2022-10-31T15:06:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/?p=69569"},"modified":"2022-11-01T18:25:12","modified_gmt":"2022-11-01T17:25:12","slug":"yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards","status":"publish","type":"rss_feed","link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/rss_feed\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards\/","title":{"rendered":"Yew tree guide: how to identify, why it\u2019s so poisonous, and why it\u2019s found in churchyards"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/p>

By Megan Shersby\n \t\t<\/p>

Published: Monday, 31 October 2022 at 12:00 am<\/p>

\n\n

The yew tree is one of the UK\u2019s three native conifer plants (the other two being Scots pine and juniper). The species is famous for being incredibly long-lived and poisonous \u2013 and for being a good wood to make longbows from!<\/p>\n\n<h2>Are all parts of a yew tree poisonous?<\/h2>\n<p>The yew tree, commonly found in churchyards and grand gardens, is one of the most <a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/venomous-vs-poisonous\/"\">poisonous<\/a> woody plants in the world.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly all parts of the tree contain a toxic alkaloid called taxine. Taxine in small doses, typically under 50g of yew material, would be enough to cause severe gastric upset. However, doses over 50g or more (the equivalent weight of two AA batteries) would be enough to kill an adult human.<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"><div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <h4>Learn more about poisonous wildlife:<\/h4>\n<ul><li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/venomous-vs-poisonous\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">Venomous vs poisonous: what\u2019s the difference?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/plant-facts\/trees\/whats-the-worlds-most-poisonous-tree\/"\">What\u2019s the world\u2019s most poisonous tree?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/poisonous-birds\/"\">Are there any poisonous birds?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.yourhomestyle.uk\/home-decor\/gardens\/11-common-garden-plants-that-are-poisonous-to-cats\/"\">11 common garden plants that are poisonous to cats<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section><p>The tree\u2019s toxicity may be one of the reasons it was planted in so many churchyards. Locals would have been put off taking their animals to graze in the churchyard for fear of poisoning.<\/p>\n<p>The seed of the tree is also highly toxic, yet the flesh surrounding the seed is edible and sweet tasting, but you would need to spit the seed out or remove it before you swallow \u2013 and we wouldn\u2019t recommend it!<\/p>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-69634\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-berry.-GettyImages-1421401432-8200706.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"><span class=\""caption-copy"\"><i class=\""icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> <em>Yew tree berry. \u00a9 Tanjica Perovic\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\""im-image-caption"\"\/><\/div>\n<p><em>This Q&A originally appear in <\/em>BBC Wildlife<em>, and was answered by Dave Hamilton.<\/em><\/p>\n<h2>How old do yew trees get?<\/h2>\n<p>Yew trees can get very old, and is possibly the oldest native tree species in northern Europe. A yew tree is not considered ancient until it has reached at least 900 years old.<\/p>\n<p>There are ten yew trees in Britain that are thought to date from before the 10th Century.<\/p>\n<p>The Fortingall yew in Scotland is thought to be thousands of years old, with estimates varying between 2,000 to 9,000 years old (a consensus of 5,000 years old was generally agreed upon around the Millennium).<\/p>\n<h2>How to identify yew trees<\/h2>\n<div class=\""image-handler__container\" image-handler__container--aspect=\"\" style=\""padding-bottom:\" calc=\"\"> <picture><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=299%2C199,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=354%2C236,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=404%2C269,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(max-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=554%2C369,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=407%2C271,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?webp=true&quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/webp"\"><source media=\""(min-width:\" data-srcset=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=555%2C370,\" https:=\"\" type=\""image\/jpeg"\"><img class=\""wp-image-69632\" align=\"\" size-landscape_thumbnail=\"\" image-handler__image=\"\" image-handler__image--aspect=\"\" no-wrap=\"\" js-lazyload=\"\" data-src=\""https:\/\/images.immediate.co.uk\/production\/volatile\/sites\/23\/2022\/10\/Yew-tree.-GettyImages-658930126-f606076.jpg?quality=90&resize=620%2C413"\" width=\""620"\" height=\""413"\" alt=\"""\" title=\"""\"\/><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/source><\/picture><\/div><div class=\""caption-hold"\"><figcaption class=\""wp-caption-text"\"><span class=\""caption-copy"\"><i class=\""icon-arrow\" icon-camera-circle=\"\"\/> <em>Yew trees at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. \u00a9 Paul Mansfield\/Getty<\/em><\/span><\/figcaption><span class=\""im-image-caption"\"\/><\/div>\n<p>The leaves of a yew tree are green, small and thin, with a pointed tip.<\/p>\n<p>The flowers bloom in March and April, and look different on male and female trees \u2013 yew trees are <a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/plant-facts\/what-is-a-dioecious-plant\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">dioecious<\/a>. Male flowers are very small and white-yellow in colour, whilst female flowers are green to begin with before turning brown.<\/p>\n<p>The seed is enclosed within a red berry-like structure called an aril, unlike other conifers which have cones.<\/p>\n<p>The fruit is eaten by a variety of mammals including squirrels and dormice, and birds, particularly thrushes such as <a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/facts-about-blackbirds\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">blackbirds<\/a>, <a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/facts-about-mistle-thrush\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">mistle thrushes<\/a>, and <a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/animal-facts\/birds\/bto-garden-bird-of-the-month-october-fieldfare\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">fieldfares<\/a>.<\/p>\n<h2>What is the scientific name of the yew tree?<\/h2>\n<p>The scientific name of the yew tree is <em>Taxus baccata<\/em>.<\/p>\n<p>Other species in the genus include <i\/>Florida yew (<em>T. floridana<\/em>), Canada yew (<em>T. canadensis<\/em>) and Pacific yew (<em>T. brevifolia<\/em>).<\/p>\n<section class=\""highlight\"><div class=\""highlight__content\" editor-content=\"\"> <h4>Learn more about trees:<\/h4>\n<ul><li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/plant-facts\/trees\/crown-shyness\/"\">Crown shyness: what it is and which trees it affects<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/plant-facts\/trees\/what-is-the-jelly-like-substance-on-a-tree\/"\">What is the jelly-like substance on a tree?<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\""https:\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/how-to\/make-things\/how-to-grow-oak-tree-from-acorn\/"\">How to grow an oak tree from an acorn<\/a><\/li>\n<li><a href=\"\/\/www.discoverwildlife.com\/plant-facts\/plant-id\/how-to-identify-a-tree-from-its-bark\/"\" target=\""_blank"\" rel=\""noopener" noopener noreferrer\">How to identify a tree by its bark<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul><p> <\/p><\/div> <\/section><hr\/><p><em>Main image: Yew trees at Kingley Vale National Nature Reserve. \u00a9 Paul Mansfield\/Getty<\/em><\/p><\/body><\/html>\n<hr class=\"no-tts wp-block-separator\"\/>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Megan Shersby Published: Monday, 31 October 2022 at 12:00 am The yew tree is one of the UK\u2019s three native conifer plants (the other two being Scots pine and juniper). The species is famous for being incredibly long-lived and poisonous \u2013 and for being a good wood to make longbows from! Are all parts […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":24,"featured_media":21738,"template":"","categories":[1],"acf":{"readingTimeMinutes":"3"},"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards.jpg",2119,1415,false],"thumbnail":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-150x150.jpg",150,150,true],"medium":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-300x200.jpg",300,200,true],"medium_large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-768x513.jpg",768,513,true],"large":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-1024x684.jpg",800,534,true],"1536x1536":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-1536x1026.jpg",1536,1026,true],"2048x2048":["https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/44\/2022\/11\/yew-tree-guide-how-to-identify-why-its-so-poisonous-and-why-its-found-in-churchyards-2048x1368.jpg",2048,1368,true]},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"importmanagerhub@sprylab.com","author_link":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/author\/importmanagerhubsprylab-com\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"By Megan Shersby Published: Monday, 31 October 2022 at 12:00 am The yew tree is one of the UK\u2019s three native conifer plants (the other two being Scots pine and juniper). The species is famous for being incredibly long-lived and poisonous \u2013 and for being a good wood to make longbows from! Are all parts…","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed\/21737"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/rss_feed"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/rss_feed"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/24"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/21738"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=21737"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/c01.purpledshub.com\/bbcwildlife\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=21737"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}