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.