The Herbarium
Part XII · Lookalikes
Field pair
Yew for pine tea
English yew and Pine — take this sheet to the bed, not a guess to the kettle.
Deadly mix-upForage
Yew for pine tea
A winter evergreen tea from the wrong needle is taxine, not vitamin C. English yew is a churchyard tree, not a white pine.
Yew needles are flat, two-ranked, dark above and paler below, with no pine scent and a red aril, not a cone. Pine needles are in bundles of two or more and smell of resin. If it has a fleshy red cup, it is not tea.
The Herbarium — a teaching catalog, not a clinic. Traditional use is history, not a prescription. USDA 6b dates are a week either way, not a promise. Do not eat, drink, or harvest a plant you cannot name.