Taxus Baccata

Taxus baccata, commonly called yew, common yew or European yew, is a species of coniferous tree in the family Taxaceae, native across much of Europe and parts of West Asia, the Caucasus and northwest Africa, typically found as a woodland species. Its seed sits inside a fleshy red structure called an aril that gives the plant a berry-like appearance, and every part of the plant except that fleshy aril is poisonous, with toxins that can be absorbed by inhalation, ingestion or through the skin. Its wood has historically been prized for longbows and instruments such as lutes, and the tree is widely planted as an ornamental, hedge and topiary, including in churchyards, where some specimens reach great age.