YEW

3rd December 2023

Whitebeards have armed their thin and hairless scalps

Against thy Majesty: boys with women’s voices

Strive to speak big and clap their female joints

In stiff unwieldy arms against thy crown;

Thy very beadsmen learn to bend their bows

Of double-fatal yew against thy state.

Yea, distaff women manage rusty bills

Against thy seat. Both young and old rebel.

And all goes worse than I have power to tell.

SCROOP: Richard II, Act 3, Scene 2

YEW (Taxus baccata) (Caution: Poison)

Yew trees may be the longest living trees in northern Europe. Trees like the Fortingale Yew may be over 2000 years old. Yews keep their green needles all year round and the female trees bear red berries in the autumn. All parts of the Yew are poisonous. Taxol, the cancer medication, is based on Yew compounds. Ancient Yews are often found in churchyards but Yew is also a plant of woodland and provides food and shelter for birds and other wildlife.

Shakespeare calls the Yew ‘double-fatal’ which refers to their poison but also to the use of Yew wood to make long bows. Yew has a very strong but very flexible timber which made it perfect for making archery bows. Yew is also associated with magic, death and foreboding in Shakespeare in Macbeth, Romeo and Juliet, Titus Andronicus and Twelfth Night.

More Information

Ancient Yew Group: Visit Site

BSBI Plant Atlas 2020: Yew

Fortingale Graveyard Association: Yew

Trees for Life: Yew

Woodland Trust: Yew

IVY

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