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European Yew
Taxus baccata
50.8519, 4.36432
Field Notes
Description:
-It is a small- to medium-sized evergreen tree, growing 10–20 metres
-The leaves are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1–4 centimetres
-The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–7 millimetres, long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril
Habitat:
-conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia
Notes:
-Most parts of the tree are toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds
-It is relatively slow growing, but can be very long-lived, with the maximum recorded trunk diameter of 4 metres probably only being reached in about 2,000 years
Species ID Suggestions
Spotted for Missions
Photographed
PublishedApril 23, 2011
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