Taxus sp. Fact Sheet

Taxus - Yew photo of fruit of yew. Seed projecting from opening in center of red aril. Taxus - Yew picture of small pollen cones growing in the axils of the leaves and shoot. Photo taken in early November 2010 Taxus - Yew photo of bright red fruit taken in early November 2010. Some of the fruit has begun to wither Taxus - Yew pollen cones opening in mid March 2012

Photos of the Taxus plant on this page are on drivers side of car onThornhill Drive. This is a rather large planting, but I haven't been able to find a tag.

Photos were taken on 2010-09-29

Yews are classified as conifers, but female plants produce red, fleshy, single-seeded fruit instead of cones.The red fruit is called arils and may appear on female plants. They don't have a peduncle (stem) but are attached directly by the base. The arils often go unnoticed until they turn red in September, then don't persist very long after that.
The brown seeds can be seen in an opening in the bottom of the aril.

Please ask for permission before using my photographs. Larger sizes and additional photographs of the tree are often available.