Common name: Pacific Yew; Western Yew

Scientific Name: Taxus brevifolia

Description: The Pacific Yew is an evergreen tree that grows 2-15m (6-45 feet) in height, with a trunk diameter of up to 30 cm (11 inches). Its branches tend to droop and its trunk and branches are often gnarly and twisted. The bark is reddish-brown and scaly, with some scales shedding to reveal a bright red under bark. The needles are dull- to dark-green, flat, alternate one another, and 1 inch (2-3 cm) long with a sharp tip. The bottom side of the needle is white with a light green central line running the length of the needle (Pojar and Makinnon 1994). A bright red, fleshy fruit with a belly button-like hole on the tip surrounds the seeds of the Yew.

Geographical range: Found throughout the western region of northern California, Oregon, Washington, British Columbia, Canada, and Alaska. This tree is restricted to very western forests of northern British Columbia and Alaska (Pojar and Makinnon 1994).

Habitat: This tree is found in low- to middle-elevation old-growth Douglas-fir/ Western hemlock forests. It requires moist soil and a high shade environment with occasional sunflecks penetrating through the canopy (Pojar and Makinnon 1994).

Reproduction: Yew trees are either male or female. Pollen from the male cone is wind dispersed and pollinates the female cone. When the female cone is fertilized, it forms a fleshy red cup encasing a single seed. The seeds are spread via birds or by dropping onto the forest floor. The Yew tree is unlike all other conifers in that it forms a berry with seeds, rather than a cone (Pojar and Makinnon 1994).

Input requirements (food supply): Like all plants, the Yew tree depends on photosynthesis for its survival. Using the energy of the sun, the Yew chemically converts nutrients, water, and air into sugars and carbohydrates.

Role in the ecosystem: The bright red berries serve as an important food source for birds (Pojar and Makinnon 1994).

Use as a Human Resource: The hard and durable wood from the Yew tree was a primary resource for coastal Native American tribes. Tribes used this wood to make bows, wedges, clubs, paddles, digging sticks, adze handles, harpoon shafts, spears, sewing needles, awes, knives, dishes, spoons, boxes, drum frames, bark scrapers, combs and many other useful tools. Yew wood is still sought today by wood carvers, as its beautiful wood changes in color from yellow to deep-red the deeper it is carved into the heartwood (Gunther 1973).

Medicinally, the Yew tree is also an incredibly important resource for human beings. For centuries Native American tribes all over the Pacific Northwest made a tea from the needles to combat a cold or flu sickness (Gunther 1973). In the last decade, Yew trees have become an important resource in western medicine. A chemical called taxol, derived from under the bark layer of the Yew tree, is currently used as an anti-cancer agent. It has proven to suppress tumor growth in ovarian, breast, and kidney cancers. However, only one ounce of taxol can be obtained from a 100 year-old tree. Yew trees are incredibly slow growing and are endangered by over-harvesting for the taxol. To overcome this problem of endangering populations of yew trees in the region, tree farms are currently being established and pharmacists are perfecting a synthetic replication of taxol. Taxol is currently being used on cancer patients.

Notes: The bright red berries are poisonous to humans. This tree is only found in old-growth forests as it takes numerous years to establish itself and grows incredibly slow.