We have a lovely specimen of what we've always thought is a Taxus brevifolia, but a recent visitor suggested that it could be a Taxus baccata or English Yew. I would appreciate any information as to whether the latter species is known on southern Vancouver Island, and whether there's an easy way for a layman to tell which one we have. Tnx, Byron Davies, Victoria
Our specimen's branches tend to cross one another haphazardly rather than leave the trunk symetrically, if that's "squiggly" -- but is that a defining difference between brevifolia and baccata? Tnx, bd
Sinuous. The foreign species has markedly straighter shoots, as a rule. It reproduces readily here, whereas the native does not. A tree that is not a relict from undisturbed forest is unlikely to be the native.
English yew does not have the reddish, shaggy bark that our native does. The native yew; Taxus brevifolia has a small "keel" where the leaf joins the stem, and twists away from it at an angle. The introduced English yew has leaves that arise almost from the stem,and appear part of the stem. (Not a botanical description, but works for me ). The berries are edible, but do not eat the seeds. English yew probably is naturalized on parts of Vancouver Island, especially along the eastern side, as it is on the Mainland, in the Fraser valley, occassionally found in intact forests, as an escapee.
