yew

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A genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, Taxus, with a fruit containing a single seed surrounded by a scarlet, fleshy, cuplike envelope (aril). The leaves are flat and acicular (needle-shaped), green below, with stalks extending downward on the stem. The only native American species of commercial importance is the Pacific yew (T. breuifolia), a medium-sized tree of the Pacific Coast and northern Rocky Mountain regions. Although it is not a common tree, its wood is sometimes used for poles, paddles, bows, and small cabinetwork.

The English yew (T. baccata), native in Europe, North Africa, and northern Asia, and the Japanese yew (T. cuspidate) are much cultivated in the United States as evergreen ornamentals.

Yew trees symbolize both death and immortality, being poisonous but long-lived, and able to re-root their branches to produce fresh saplings. Until the 18th century, their foliage was laid in coffins and graves at funerals. The custom of planting yews in churchyards seems to have come with Christianity to Ireland and Wales, in imitation of Mediterranean cemeteries with cypress and laurel; it then spread to England, probably as early as the 12th century.

Later generations, however, found churchyard yews puzzling. Two practical explanations are often put forward, namely to provide wood for longbows, and/or to ensure farmers did not let cows graze among the graves. Both lack documentary support, and the slow growth of yews makes the first implausible; naturally, the branches of an already mature tree could be cut for bows, but existing trees show no sign of having been lopped, nor do parish records note sales of yew staves (N&Q 5s:12 (1879), 112-13).

The age of large yews is hard to assess, but 1,000 years is not impossible, suggesting that some were planted soon after their church was built. When a large one at Selborne (Hampshire) collapsed in a gale in January 1990, medieval graves were found beneath its roots, the oldest being from around AD 1200 (Harte, 1996: 6-7). However, some have claimed that large churchyard yews are from 2,000 to 5,000 years old and were sacred to Druids or earlier peoples, implying that the church was built because the tree was there, not vice versa. This is improbable, both botanically and archaeologically, and lacks supporting evidence.

Round the church at Painswick (Gloucestershire) are many clipped yews, traditionally said to number 99; it was alleged that every attempt to plant a hundredth would fail—and so it did! At length the mystery was solved, when a lady wrote to The Times (7 July 1963), explaining that her father, a scientist and practical joker who lived beside the churchyard, ‘used to pour acid or poison on the roots of the hundredth yew tree whenever they planted a new one. It's highly likely that he started the legend himself.’

Bibliography
The full bibliography list is available here.

• Vaughan Cornish, The Churchyard Yew and Immortality (1949)
• Jennifer Chandler, FLS News 15 (1992), 3-6
• Jeremy Harte, At the Edge 4 (1996), 1-9
• Bevan-Jones, 2002

The evergreen tree or shrub (genus Taxus) with dark green, needle-like leaves and red berries has commonly symbolized immortality in the Indo-European imagination as it is the longest-lived entity, often lasting more than 1,000 years, to be found in the European environment. It is still commonly planted in Christian churchyards and cemeteries. The druids preferred yew for wand-making over their other favourite woods, apple and oak. The name of the Eburones, a Gaulish people residing between the Main and Rhine, means ‘people of the yew’, while several Irish and Scottish place-names allude to the yew, notably Youghall [Eochaill, yew wood] in Co. Cork. The Irish personal name Eógan means ‘born of the yew’, so that the great Munster dynasty could be glossed as ‘people of the yew’. According to the foundation story of Cashel, the Eóganacht capital, Corc mac Luigthig has a vision of a yew bush, with angels dancing over it, before settling on the site. One of Conchobar mac Nessa's residences at Emain Macha, Cráebruad, has nine rooms lined with red yew. Suibne Geilt in Buile Shuibhne [The Frenzy of Suibne] rests on yew trees during his flight. When Eógan (3) and Lugaid mac Con are disputing they hear the magical music of the yew tree over a waterfall; the musician is revealed to be Fer Í [man of yew], the son of Eogabal. Wielders of the spear Gáe Assail are sure to kill their victims if they utter the word ibar [yew] as they cast. The agnomen of Cáer (1), the swan maiden, is Ibormeith [yew berry]. In oral variants of the Deirdre story, King Conchobar mac Nessa drives yew stakes through the hearts of the dead lovers, which later grow and intertwine near a church. Yet not all stories of the yew imply power or vitality. A rod named fé, made of yew or alder, was used to measure corpses and graves. And Fergus, the hapless brother of Niall Noígiallach [of the Nine Hostages] in Echtra Mac nEchach Muigmedóin [The Adventure of the Sons of Eochaid Mugmedón], signals his sterility when he rescues from a burning forge only the ‘withered wood’ of yew, which will not burn. Old Irish ibar; Modern Irish iúr; Scottish Gaelic iubhar; Manx euar; Welsh ywen; Cornish ewen; Breton ivinenn.

Tutor's tip: The "ewe" (a female sheep) said "whew" (sound of dismay or relief) when she saw the "hue" (a color or tint) of the farmer's face as he started to "hew" (to chop/shape) the wood of a large "yew" (an evergreen tree). What would "you" have said?

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Look up yew in Wiktionary, the free dictionary.

Yew may refer to:

Contents 1 Botany 2 Place names 3 Fictional place names 4 Others

Botany

• Any of various coniferous trees and shrubs in the genus Taxus:
  • European Yew or Common Yew (Taxus baccata)
  • Pacific Yew or Western Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
  • Canadian Yew (Taxus canadensis)
  • Chinese Yew (Taxus chinensis)
  • Japanese Yew (Taxus cuspidata)
  • Florida Yew (Taxus floridana)
  • Mexican Yew (Taxus globosa)
  • Sumatran Yew (Taxus sumatrana)
  • Himalayan Yew (Taxus wallichiana)
• Any of various coniferous plants in the families Taxaceae and Cephalotaxaceae:
  • White-berry Yew (Pseudotaxus chienii)
  • New Caledonian Yew or Southern Yew (Austrotaxus spicata)
  • Catkin-yew (Amentotaxus sp.)
  • Plum-yew (Cephalotaxus sp.)
• Any of the various coniferous plants in the family Podocarpaceae, which are superficially similar to other yews:
  • Prince Albert's Yew (Saxegothaea conspicua)
  • Plum-yew (Prumnopitys sp.)

Place names

• in Singapore:
  • Yew Tee, district
  • Yew Tee MRT Station
  • Yew Lian Park
• in the United Kingdom
  • Yew Tree, Liverpool
  • Yew Tree Tarn, a lake in the Lake District
  • Yew Tree, West Bromwich
  • Kenn Church, Kenn Pier & Yew Tree Farm SSSI,

Fictional place names

• Yew Dales (Ýdalir), the home of Ull, the winter god in Norse mythology

Others

• YEW is an acronym for Yokogawa Electric Works
• You (disambiguation)
• Ewe (disambiguation)

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Dansk (Danish)
n. - takstræ, taks

Nederlands (Dutch)
taxus(boom/-hout)

Français (French)
n. - if, bois d'if

Deutsch (German)
n. - Eibe, Eibenholz

Ελληνική (Greek)
n. - ήμερο έλατο, τάξος

Italiano (Italian)
tasso

Português (Portuguese)
n. - árvore venenosa chamada teixo (m) (Bot.)

Русский (Russian)
тисовое дерево, ветки тиса

Español (Spanish)
n. - tejo

Svenska (Swedish)
n. - idegran, idegransträ

中文（简体）(Chinese (Simplified))
紫杉, 红豆杉, 紫杉木

中文（繁體）(Chinese (Traditional))
n. - 紫杉, 紅豆杉, 紫杉木

한국어 (Korean)
n. - 주목(흔히 묘지에 심는 상록수), 주목재(이전에는 활감, 지금은 가구재)

日本語 (Japanese)
n. - イチイ材

العربيه (Arabic)
‏(الاسم) شجر الطقسوس, او الوزرنب‏

עברית (Hebrew)
n. - ‮טקסוס (עץ)‬