Pacific or Western Yew               TAKS-us brev-i-FO-lee-a

• Conifer, evergreen tree/shrub, spreading, 40-50(80) ft [12-15(24) m] high.  Bark about 5 mm thick, with thin, dark red-purple scales.   Needles radially arranged around the stem but appearing more or less 2 ranked, 1-2.5 cm long, linear, tapering to a horny point, yellow-green above, paler below, short yellow petiole.  Dioecious - male and female plants.  Fruit (aril) is fleshy, scarlet, oblong-oval, and single-seeded. Seeds are poisonous.
• Sun or shade.  An understory tree found in moist, well-drained soil.  Very slow growing.
• Hardy to USDA Zone 4     Native range from extreme southeastern Alaska to northern California, and east to northeastern Oregon, northern Idaho, and western Montana.
• Seeds are poisonous to humans, but birds consume them.  The foliage is poisonous to horses and cattle, especially if left to rot (Pojar and MacKinnon, 1994).
• The bark and other parts of the tree contain an anti-cancer drug, taxol, which is also found in related yew species.
• Oregon State Univ. campus: east side of "arboretum" south of Moreland Hall.