In Front of Yew

Day 19: In the thirty-plus years I've lived here, my English yew hedge has only produced berries half a dozen times or so, and always just a few...or so I thought. Sometimes, it pays to look in front of Yew. I don't know why, but this morning I was inspired to walk around to the roadward side and...well, it kinda looked like Christmas. Admittedly, there's only one female in the entire line of shrubbery which forms my hedge, but it was "berrying" like crazy. Yew berries are poisonous, and the oils in the bark and needles can cause skin irritation or other allergic reactions. Birds don't eat the fruit, but one year, a robin nested deep in the heart of the hedge. I've given up trying to keep the yews pruned back. The hedge is ten feet tall and almost as wide at this point.

Yew Berry

Day 353: They say we have to unlearn almost as much as we have learned by the time we reach adulthood, and in my case, that included the myth regarding how frequently yews (Taxus) form arils. Arils, yes. That's what those berries are called. I grew up believing that yews only fruited every seventh year, and I hate to tell you how long I held onto that misapprehension. Yews were not particularly abundant in my area, and it was only after I moved here to a property fronted by a hedge of English Yew (Taxus baccata) that I began to suspect that my mother had lied to me about the plant. I had already confirmed her deviation from the truth with respect to Salal berries (NOT the plant in the above photo!). That came about when I was roughly nine years old after watching my playmate Sydie eat them by the handful. For weeks, I kept expecting her to fall over, but she never did. Even so, I avoided eating Salal until I confirmed its edibility as an adult. That said, the berries of the yew (one type shown above) are poisonous. That, at least, was a truth taught to me at an early age.

Yew Berries

Day 40: Old wives, get ye back to hearth and home, and take your false tales with you! Yew knows better than to believe your lies! Although the solitary female shrub in my yew hedge fruits only occasionally, it is currently bearing arils as it did in 2020. Those old wives would have you believe it only fruits every seventh year. In the thirty years I've lived behind this hedge, it has borne "berries" less than half a dozen times. Why this year? I suspect our spell of hot weather in June may be one factor; it has certainly affected the cycles of several other plants whose behaviour has been somewhat unusual this fall. The aril...and note that I am speaking ONLY of the red flesh surrounding the seeds, not the seeds themselves...is the only portion of the plant which is not poisonous. Ingestion of even small amounts of the foliage, bark or seeds can result in death. Toxins in the foliage can be absorbed through the skin, so when working around yew, gloves and long sleeves should be worn. That said, its red-and-green holiday season appeal rivals that of holly. Just don't bring it in the house.