Common or European Yew (taxus baccata)

The yew tree is one of the few evergreen conifers that is native to the UK. It can be found throughout the UK.

The leaves and seeds of the yew are extremely poisonous to humans and other animals.

They are traditionally found in graveyards. Some think that is because they are very long living, and so they represent eternal life. Others think they were planted in graveyards because they are very poisonous to livestock (and humans) and were used to keep people from grazing their livestock in graveyards.

Yew trees can grow to be very, very old. The Fortingall Yew in Scotland is thought to be between 1,000 and 3,000 years old. The Woodland Trust keep a record of ancient trees. You can explore that here  https://ati.woodlandtrust.org.uk/tree-search

Published in Trees