Taxus brevifolia Pacific Yew

(Found in the Pacific Northwest)

Taxus floridana Florida Yew

(Found in Florida)

The yews are always identifiable by their bright, red, berry-like female seed cones (assuming the plant has berries on it). There are eight, very similar species world wide, although some systematists recognized only a single widespread species with eight recognizable allopatric populations. The eight species are primarily recognizable by their range and not by consistent morphological differences.

The species of Taxus are mostly poisonous and the chemotherapy treatment taxol is derived from the Pacific Yew.

There are two tree-like species in North America, Taxus brevifolia from the Pacific Northwest, and Taxus floridana from the Apalacichola River in the Pandhandle of Florida. There is, additionally, a third shrubby species of Taxus in North America, Taxus canadensis. Any wild species of Taxus from eastern Canada or the northeastern United States will be this species. Only the two tree species are treated here.

Identification Features:

The female seed cones are bright red with the top open and the seed visible inside. The needles are arranged in two rows on either side of the twig and in roughly opposite pairs.