English yew

Taxus baccata

Taxaceae

The churchyard evergreen — a beautiful hedge whose seeds and foliage stop a heart.

Common churchyard and hedge tree. Paclitaxel (Taxol) is a chemotherapy drug from related yews, manufactured — not brewed.

Parts used: None for self-care. Pharmaceutical taxanes only.
Traditional notes: Historical longbow wood · Churchyard planting — not medicine
Grow · USDA 6b: Tree/shrub, USDA 5–7 (baccata); other Taxus species similar If you plant a hedge, teach the household. Compost trimmings away from horses and cattle. In work: Mar · Apr · May · Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep
Harvest: Do not harvest for medicine.

Every part but the red aril flesh is toxic — and the seed inside the aril is not candy.
Hedge clippings do not go in the livestock pile.
A churchyard tree. Admire, do not tea.

Safety

All unsupervised use

Lookalikes

Pine — A winter evergreen tea from the wrong needle is taxine, not vitamin C. English yew is a churchyard tree, not a white pine.

Lore

Taxus, the churchyard tree of Europe, longbow wood, and paclitaxel’s cousin. Every part but the red aril flesh is deadly. Do not make tea from hedges.

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.