Washington Flora Checklist
A Checklist of the Vascular Plants of Washington State
Hosted by the University of Washington Herbarium
 

Checklist » Taxaceae » Taxus brevifolia

Taxus brevifolia Nutt. [FNA2, H&C]
Taxaceae
Pacific or western yew

Origin: Native

Voucher:WTU (view specimen records)

Notes: FNA2: "The name Taxus baccata Hooker has been misapplied to this species.

The leaves of Taxus brevifolia are usually somewhat falcate.

The wood of Taxus brevifolia is hard and durable, yet easily worked, making it popular for construction of novelty items by local woodworkers. Because of this, large trees are unscrupulously poached; in some areas the species has been nearly extirpated. The bark of the tree is a promising natural source of taxol, a drug for treating various cancers; exploitation of the species for medicinal purposes is further threatening it."

Literature:
» Taylor, R. L. and S. Taylor. 1981. Taxus brevifolia in British Columbia. Davidsonia 12(4): 89--94.

Photo © Ben Legler
(from WTU Image Collection)

Taxon treatment authored by Peter F. Zika; last updated 2/26/2009 by David Giblin
Synonyms
Taxus baccata L. ssp. brevifolia (Nuttall) Pilger
Taxus baccata L. var. brevifolia (Nutt.) Koehne
Taxus baccata L. var. canadensis Bentham
Taxus lindleyana A. Murray bis
Taxux bourcieri Carrière




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