Common Yew

English Yew

Latin Name : Taxus baccata

Yew is an evergreen conifer, not losing it’s leaves in the autumn. It is very tough, and is one of a very few conifers which will re-grow if cut down to the ground.  This is a useful characteristic because it means that we can reduce its height or width hard back if needed, and, although it will look nothing like a Yew hedge at that point (just a load of bare branches and trunks), it will grow back in 2 or 3 years. It’s also good if you want to have a go at making a peacock in your garden! Although we call it a conifer, it doesn’t produce cones, but red berries, which are open at the end, showing off the seed inside. They are native in the UK on chalky soil, but are tolerant of most soil types, and are also shade tolerant. They can be found growing quite happily in the dense shade of a Beech Woodland. Every part is poisonous.