{"id":220,"date":"2025-09-25T18:23:53","date_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:23:53","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/?p=220"},"modified":"2025-09-25T18:23:53","modified_gmt":"2025-09-25T22:23:53","slug":"european-yew","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/european-yew\/","title":{"rendered":"European Yew"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns sidebar is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em><em>Taxus baccata<\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/em><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"is-style-intro\">The European yew can live thousands of years, yet is sometimes called \u201cthe tree of death.\u201d This is because of the highly poisonous compounds contained in most parts of the plant.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<aside class=\"wp-block-group boxout has-light-green-background-color has-background is-content-justification-left is-layout-constrained wp-container-core-group-is-layout-12dd3699 wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Location<\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>Today, we have a yew tree in the North of the arboretum. It can be most easily spotted from the Larch Lane or Stone Wall Cutoff trails.<\/p>\n<\/aside>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\" style=\"flex-basis:50%\">\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image size-full\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"900\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-leaf.jpg\" alt=\"European Yew Tree leaves and berries\" class=\"wp-image-222\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-leaf.jpg 900w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-leaf-300x200.jpg 300w, https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-leaf-768x512.jpg 768w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 900px) 100vw, 900px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div style=\"height:4rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group alignfull section-intro has-light-warm-gray-background-color has-background is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-columns is-layout-flex wp-container-core-columns-is-layout-28f84493 wp-block-columns-is-layout-flex\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-vertically-aligned-stretch is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div style=\"background-image:url(&apos;https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-tree.jpg&apos;);background-position:50% 50%;background-size:cover;\" class=\"wp-block-group padded lifted has-white-background-color has-background wp-container-content-69bc4bdf is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div style=\"height:25.625rem\" aria-hidden=\"true\" class=\"wp-block-spacer\"><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-column is-layout-flow wp-block-column-is-layout-flow\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-group padded has-charcoal-color has-text-color has-link-color wp-elements-e95a052f336ce8ead6906bc73ef7d159 is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">History at Hadwen<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"intro has-medium-font-size\">Hadwen cultivated European yew in the arboretum at least as early as 1882. In 1900, he wrote that he greatly appreciated coniferous trees \u201cfor their symmetry of form and varying shades of green.\u201d Moving into the 1960s, there are limited records showing the prevalence of yew until 2020.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group section is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\"><div style=\"color:var(--clarku-color-green)\" class=\"eyebrow  has-text-align-left\">Keep learning<\/div>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Detailed species information<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>European yew is an evergreen species in the family Taxaceae native to much of Europe and parts of North Africa and southwestern Asia. The trees are small, typically growing 35\u201365 feet (10\u201320 meters) tall and 6.5 feet (2 meters) in diameter. The yew is a long-lived species, typically living 400 to 600 years and in some cases reaching thousands of years. The yew is characterized by brown, flaky, scaly bark and flat, dark green needles. The seeds of the yew are contained in sticky, soft, red berry-like structures called aril. It should be noted that most parts of the tree, including the seeds and leaves, contain highly poisonous toxic compounds. Physical contact can lead to irritation and consumption can result in death. Despite this, the seeds are eaten by some species of finches and tits. The berry-like aril is not poisonous and is said to have a sweet taste.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>European yew prefers rocky slopes and well-drained soils of all types. Given the correct conditions, the yew is able to withstand a variety of stressful conditions such as temporary floods and droughts. As an understory tree, it is tolerant of low light conditions but can also thrive in full sun. The wood of the yew is remarkably strong and also flexible. In the Middle Ages, the wood of the yew was used to construct musical instruments, longbows, and fine woodworking. Because of the high demand for yew wood and the yew\u2019s slow growth rates, the tree nearly went extinct in Europe during this time. Today, the yew is widely used in landscaping as an ornamental tree due to its appearance and tolerance to harsh conditions. Further, its slow growth means it requires infrequent pruning.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Taxus baccata The European yew can live thousands of years, yet is sometimes called \u201cthe tree of death.\u201d This is because of the highly poisonous compounds contained in most parts of the plant. Location Today, we have a yew tree in the North of the arboretum. It can be most easily spotted from the Larch [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":222,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-220","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-trees"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v27.2 (Yoast SEO v27.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-premium-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>European Yew | Hadwen Arboretum | Clark University<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/european-yew\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"European Yew\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taxus baccata The European yew can live thousands of years, yet is sometimes called \u201cthe tree of death.\u201d This is because of the highly poisonous compounds contained in most parts of the plant. Location Today, we have a yew tree in the North of the arboretum. It can be most easily spotted from the Larch [&hellip;]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/trees\/european-yew\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Hadwen Arboretum\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/ClarkUniversityWorcester\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-09-25T22:23:53+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.clarku.edu\/hadwen-arboretum\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/97\/european-yew-leaf.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"900\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@clarkuniversity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@clarkuniversity\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" 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