Yew

Yew bowl
MFA# 1990.189

Description

Yew (Taxus baccata)

Any of several spreading evergreen trees of the Taxus family, such as Taxus baccata, that are found throughout Europe and Asia. The dense, strong wood from the common yew tree is reddish with a close grain. It was used in ancient Egypt for utensils, bowls, tools, weapons, boats, coffins, statues, and nails (Gale et al 2000).

• See also [Uemera Dye Archive (Onko)]

Synonyms and Related Terms

common yew (Taxus baccata); English yew; European yew; Taiwan yew (Taxus marei); Japanese yew (ichii); if (Fr.); Eibe (Deut.); tasso (It.); tejo (Esp.); teixo (Port.)

Risks

• Toxic by ingestion and inhalation.
• Skin contact may cause irritation

Additional Images

• 

  Taiwan Yew Taxus mariei

• 

  Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
  radial section at 100x

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  Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
  tangential section at 100x

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  Yew (Taxus brevifolia)
  transverse section at 100x

• 

  Silk dyed with yew, Uemera Dye Archive

Resources and Citations

• R.Gale, P.Gasson, N.Hepper, G.Killen, "Wood" in Ancient Egyptian Materials and Technology, P.Nicholson, I.Shaw (eds.), Cambridge University Press, 2000, p. 334-371.

• Schoch, W., Heller, I., Schweingruber, F.H., Kienast, F., 2004:Wood anatomy of central European Species: Yew, Taxus baccata L.

• Encyclopedia Britannica, http://www.britannica.com Comment: "Yew." 25 Apr. 2004 .

• Michael McCann, Artist Beware, Watson-Guptill Publications, New York City, 1979

• Random House, Webster's Encyclopedic Unabridged Dictionary of the English Language, Grammercy Book, New York, 1997

• The American Heritage Dictionary or Encarta, via Microsoft Bookshelf 98, Microsoft Corp., 1998

• Museum of the Japanese Traditional Arts at http://www.nihon-kogeikai.com/ (Jap. term)