Yew
Native · Up to 25 m

Yew

Taxus baccata · Taxaceae

Yew is a dark evergreen, often planted in churchyards. Its flat needles grow in two rows, almost black above and yellowish beneath. Female trees carry red berries, open at the tip.

Often mistaken for holly. How to tell them apart →
Know it byNeedlesFlat needles in two rows, dark and glossy on top.BerriesA soft red cup, open at the tip, on female trees.BarkThin, scaly bark in patches of grey, purple and red.

Then check · ShapeA broad, heavy crown, so dark it looks almost black from a distance, usually with a pointed tip. It is often in a churchyard.

How to identify a yew

Yew: needlesZeke Marshall, CC BY 4.0
Needles

Yew needles are flat and grow in two rows along each side-shoot, dark and glossy on top and paler underneath. The shoot they sit on stays green.

Yew: berriesJohn Witton, CC BY 4.0
Berries

From late summer into autumn, female trees carry soft, bright red cups, each open at the tip with a green seed showing inside. The whole fruit is poisonous.

Yew: barkEwan Shilland, CC BY 4.0
Bark

The bark is thin and lifts off in small scales, leaving patches of grey, purple and red on the same trunk.

Learn the yew in TreelyEvery part through the year, and a short round each day until you know it.Get Treely

Every part, in photographs

Yew shoots and needles: flat dark needles in two rowsEwan Shilland, CC BY 4.0
Shoots and needlesFlat dark needles in two rows
Yew pollen cones: male trees whiten before shedding pollen
Pollen conesMale trees whiten before shedding pollen
Yew berries: red berry-like cup, open at the tipJohn Witton, CC BY 4.0
BerriesRed berry-like cup, open at the tip
Yew bark: grey, purple and red, shallowly scaling
BarkGrey, purple and red, shallowly scaling
Yew shape: dark heavy crown, broad with a pointed tip
ShapeDark heavy crown, broad with a pointed tip

When to look

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In leaf
Flowers
Berries

In leaf: all year · Flowers: February to April · Berries: August to November

Every tree on the calendar

Where you’ll find it

Under taller trees in woods, above all under beech, and in dense groves on limestone slopes and the chalk downs. It is planted in churchyards, parks and gardens, and is commonest in southern England.

What it’s mistaken for

Yew: shape of a leafHolly: shape of a leafYew or holly?Both are dark native evergreens with red fruit in the same woods and churchyards.Shape of a leaf Yew: fruit on the shootsWestern red cedar: fruit on the shootsYew or western red cedar?Both are dark evergreens used for hedging.Fruit on the shoots
  • Norway spruceBoth are dark evergreens with needles. Leaf. Yew: flat, bending under a finger. Norway spruce: four-sided, turning freely, stiff and sharp.
  • Western hemlockBoth are dark evergreens whose flat needles lie in two rows either side of the shoot. Leaf. Yew: dull yellowish green, abruptly sharp tips. Western hemlock: two white bands, blunt tips, two lengths.
  • JuniperBoth are native evergreens carrying a fleshy fruit in place of a woody cone. Leaf. Yew: two flat rows along the side-shoots. Juniper: in threes, standing straight out from the twig.
In the app

There’s more of the yew in Treely

  • Every part, through the yearLeaves, bark, buds, flowers and fruit, photographed in every season
  • Its lookalikes, side by sideThe checks that settle it, part by part
  • A short round each dayUntil you know the yew on sight, from any side
  • Name it from a photoA leaf, the bark or a flower, and Treely tells you which tree
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Every fact on this page is checked against the Collins Tree Guide, last in November 2026. Spotted something that looks wrong in front of a real tree? Tell us. How we check.

Photographs: ruth628 (CC0), Zeke Marshall (CC BY 4.0), John Witton (CC BY 4.0), Ewan Shilland (CC BY 4.0), twig777 (CC0), bobwardell (CC0), Leon Cross (CC BY 4.0), Chris Fluit (CC BY 4.0). With thanks to everyone who shares their photographs on iNaturalist and Wikimedia Commons.