England, though it might be so easily mistaken for the common yew, that we have possibly overlooked it. It would no doubt grow well in England, as it is a native of the colder and damper parts of the north-west coast of America, from Queen Charlotte Islands along the coast ranges of British Columbia, western Washington, and Oregon; in California on the Sierra Nevada at 5000 to 8000 feet, and as far south as Monterey; and extends eastward to the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Montana, where it becomes shrubby in habit, I have seen it in Washington on the slopes of Mount Tacoma, where it grew isolated in the dense forest, and attained no great size, though it occasionally reaches a height of 70 to 80 feet. In Vancouver's Island it is not uncommon in the rich, low meadows of the east coast, but the largest I saw were not over 30 to 40 feet high. The wood seemed indistinguishable from that of the European species, and was, like it, rotten at heart in old trees and full of holes. Sargent says that the Indians use it for bows, paddles, spear handles, and fish-hooks, but except for fencing posts it does not seem to be used by settlers.
V. Canadian Yew, var. canadensis.—This is only a creeping shrub with a stem occasionally a foot or two in height, and though it is said by Loudon to have been introduced in 1800, it has never obtained a place in English gardens. I have seen it common in Canada in thick forest, where it produced red berries very like those of our yew. Sargent gives its distribution as from Newfoundland to the northern shores of Lakes Superior and Winnipeg, southwards through the Northern States to New Jersey and Minnesota.
VI. Florida Yew, var. floridana.—This is one of the rarest of North American trees, confined to a few localities in Western Florida, and, except by its habit, not easily distinguished from T. canadensis. It is usually shrubby, rarely attaining 25 feet high. It has never been introduced to cultivation in England, and is probably not hardy.
VII. Mexican Yew, var. globosa.—A tree about 20 feet in height, discovered in 1837 by Ehrenberg in Southern Mexico. There are also specimens at Kew of yews collected in Mexico by Hartweg, F. Miiller, and W. Saunders, which vary considerably in foliage. This variety is scarcely known, as recent collectors have failed to rediscover the tree. It is very like the common yew. (H.J.E.)
Varieties of the Common Yew in Cultivation
These have in some cases originated as individual sports in the wild state; in other cases they are due to the art of the gardener, who has greatly increased the number of varieties by selection. They differ from the type in various ways:—(1) in habit (fastigiate, prostrate, pendulous, and dwarf forms); (2) in the colour, shape, size, and disposition on the branchlets of the leaves; (3) in the colour of the fruit. André,[1] in an interesting article, illustrated by figures, has drawn attention to the remarkable differences which occur in the shape of the seed and of the aril in the different cultivated varieties; but it is probable that these are not so constant as he believed.
- ↑ Revue Horticole, 1886, p. 105, translated in Garden, 1889, xxxv. 36.
