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Taxus baccata

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	Taxus baccata
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	Topics Taxus baccata Topic Home *Taxus baccata* is a coniferPinophyta The conifers, division Pinophyta, also known as division Coniferae, are one of 13 or 14 division level taxa with... native to western, central and southern EuropeEurope Europe is one of the seven traditional continents of the Earth.... , northwest AfricaAfrica Africa is one of the greatest sized continents of the Earth.... , northern IranIran Summary 'Throughout history, Iran has been of great geostrategic importance because of its central location in Eurasia.... and southwest AsiaAsia Summary Asia is the largest and most populous continent or region, depending on the definition.... . It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the common yew, or European yew. Description It is a small to medium-sized evergreenEvergreen Summary In botany, an evergreen plant is a plant that retains its leaves all year round, with each leaf persisting for more than 12 ... treeTree A tree is a large, perennial, woody plant.... , growing 10-20 m (exceptionally up to 28 m) tall, with a trunk up to 2 m (exceptionally 4 m) diameter. The barkFacts About BARK BARK was completed in February 1950 at a cost of 400.000 Swedish kronor.... is thin, scaly brown, coming off in small flakes aligned with the stem. The leavesLeaf In botany, a leaf is an above-ground plant organ specialized for photosynthesis.... are lanceolateLanceolate Lanceolate from Latin: lanceolatus, meaning lance-shaped, refers to a narrow oval shape with curved sides, tapering to a... , flat, dark green, 1-4 cm long and 2-3 mm broad, arranged spirally on the stem, but with the leaf bases twisted to align the leaves in two flat rows either side of the stem, except on erect leading shoots where the spiral arrangement is more obvious. The leaves are highly poisonous. The seed conesConifer cone A cone is an organ on plants in the division Pinophyta that contains the reproductive structures.... are highly modified, each cone containing a single seedSeed A seed is the ripened ovule of gymnosperm or angiosperm plants.... 4-7 mm long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berryFacts About Berry In botany, the berry is the most common type of simple fleshy fruit; a fruit in which the entire ovary wall ripens into an e... -like structure called an arilAril An aril is a fleshy covering of certain seeds formed from the *funiculus.... , 8-15 mm long and wide and open at the end. The arils are mature 6-9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained are eaten by thrushesThrush (bird) Summary See also other birds with Thrush in their name: Waterthrush, Shrike-thrush, Thrush Nightingale... , waxwingWaxwing The waxwings* are a group of passerine birds characterised by soft silky plumage and unique red tips to some of the wing feat... s and other birdBird Birds are bipedal, warm-blooded, oviparous vertebrate animals characterized primarily by feathers, forelimbs modified as win... s, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings; maturation of the arils is spread over 2-3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seed itself is extremely poisonous and bitter. The aril is not poisonous, and is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The male cones are globose, 3-6 mm diameter, and shed their pollenPollen Pollen, sometimes incorrectly called flower sperm, is a fine to coarse powder consisting of *microgametophytes* ... in early spring. It is mostly dioeciousPlant sexuality Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom.... , but occasional individuals can be variably monoeciousPlant sexuality Plant sexuality deals with the wide variety of sexual reproduction systems found across the plant kingdom.... , or change sex with time. It is relatively slow growing, but can be very long-lived, with the maximum recorded trunk diameter of 4 m probably only being reached in about 2,000 years. The potential age of yews is impossible to determine accurately and is subject to much dispute. There is rarely any wood as old as the entire tree, while the boughs themselves often hollow with age, making ring countsDendrochronology Dendrochronology or tree-ring dating is the method of scientific dating based on the analysis of tree-ring growth patt... impossible. There are unconfirmed claims as high as 5,000-9,500 years, but other evidence based on growth rates and archaeological work of surrounding structures suggests the oldest trees (such as the Fortingall YewFortingall Yew Fortingall Yew, an ancient yew stands in a churchyard in the village of Fortingall in Perth and Kinross, Scotland.... in PerthshirePerthshire Perthshire was a county in central Scotland, which extended from Strathmore in the east, to the Pass of Drumochter in the n... , ScotlandScotland Scotland is a nation in northwest Europe and one of the constituent countries of the United Kingdom.... ) are more likely to be in the range of 2,000 years. Even with this lower estimate, Taxus baccata is the longest living plant in Europe. Most parts of the tree are toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds. The major toxin is the alkaloid taxaneTaxane The taxanes are a class of alkaloids produced by the plants of the genus Taxus.... . The foliage remains toxic even when wilted or dried. HorseHorse The horse is a large odd-toed ungulate mammal, one of ten modern species of the genus Equus.... s have the lowest tolerance, with a lethal dose of 200–400 mg/kg body weight, but cattleCattle Cattle are domesticated ungulates, a member of the subfamily Bovinae of the family Bovidae.... , pigPig Pigs are ungulates native to Eurasia collectively grouped under the genus *Sus* within the Suidae family.... s, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable. Symptoms include staggering gait, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, and eventually heart failure. However, death occurs so rapidly that many times the symptoms are missed. Etymology The word yew is from Proto-Germanic iwa-, possibly originally a loanword from GaulishGaulish language Summary Gaulish* is the name given to the Celtic language that was spoken in Gaul before the Vulgar Latin of the late Roman Empire be... ivos, compare IrishIrish language Irish , a language spoken in the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, is constitutionally recognised as the first offic... eoIodhadh Iodhadh is the Irish name of the twenty-fifth letter of the Ogham alphabet, .... , WelshWelsh language Welsh , is a member of the Brythonic branch of Celtic spoken natively in Wales , in England by some along the Welsh border, ... ywen, French ; see EihwazEihwaz Eihwaz was a Proto-Germanic word for "yew", and the reconstructed name of the rune ?.... for a discussion). Baccata is Latin for bearing red berries. The word yew as it was originally used seems to refer to the colour brownFacts About Brown The color brown is a dark red or orange of very low intensity; however brown exists as a color perception only in the presen... . See also List of plants poisonous to equinesList of plants poisonous to equines This is a list of plants which are poisonous to equines....