El Taxus baccata fastigiata It is a slow-growing conifer known in Spain as yew, a tree that can be found isolated, forming hedges and as a horticultural specimen. Its wood was highly valued in ancient times for its exceptional qualities, and was used first for the manufacture of bows and later for cabinetmaking and marquetry. It requires certain care so that it can grow in good conditions.
For this reason, we are going to dedicate this article to telling you everything you need to know about the Taxus baccata fastigiata and their characteristics.
Habitat of the Taxus baccata fastigiata
In its habitat it grows as a solitary tree and mixes with other species, sometimes forming groves. In Spain they are more prominent as examples of the northern mountain systems. Some examples:
- The yew forest of the Sierra del Sueve, Asturias: Las Tejedas del Sueve is an ancient forest considered to be the largest concentration of yew (Taxus baccata) in Europe and one of the oldest forest complexes on the European continent. It is estimated that the forest is made up of more than 8.000 yew trees spread over an area of about 80 hectares. Its location is in a limestone massif on the edge of the Bay of Biscay.
- The Braña de los Yews, Liébana, Cantabria: Located on a small high plateau, La Braña de los Tejos is like a perfect watchtower and, as its name suggests, it is full of yew trees. Its field of vision covers 360 degrees, and if you add the presence of these unique yews to its location, we have a place of special beauty. To get to the Braña de los Tejos we have several options. The easiest and fastest is from San Pedro de Bedoia, where the trail begins and is signposted as Sendero Corto PR-S4. You just have to follow it until we stop at this authentic "nature reserve". Another option is to start from Santa María de Lebeña and continue straight on along a well-conditioned path, but before Brañade los Tejos it will be steeper.
- Tejedelo Forest between Zamora and Ourense: old yew tree in the municipality of Requejo de Sanabria, region of the same name in the northwest quadrant of the province of Zamora, Spain. El Tejedelo is located on a north-facing slope at 1.350 meters above sea level. Its space is managed by the Junta de Castilla y León and is part of the Natura 2000 network as a Site of Community Importance (SCI).
Key features
El Taxus baccata fastigiata It is a tree or bush that can reach a height of 20 meters in its adult stage. As it grows, it forms a wide conical crown through its horizontal or somewhat pendulous branches, especially at the ends. Its leaves measure between 10 – 30 x 1,5 – 3 mm in size. They are dark green above and greenish-yellow below, ending more or less in a horny tip.
Its flowering is concentrated between January and February, bearing fruit from October to December. Aril harvesting is done manually at the end of autumn.
The fruits are technically doll-shaped from 7 to 12 mm (pseudofruits of gymnosperms) and consist of a single seed partially surrounded by a fleshy red aril that ripens during the calendar year. Oval seeds, 6-8 mm long, exophytic woody, with a small apex at the end, with a thin smooth light brown cap.
The entire yew plant is poisonous, except for the "meat" of its fruit, which is consumed by a large number of animals.
El Taxus baccata fastigiata lives in the shadow of canyons, ravines and slopes of the Iberian Peninsula, mainly in limestones; almost always as an isolated specimen, often in rocky soils and even in rock crevices. In Andalusia it can reach up to 2.100 meters above sea level, but in the rest of the peninsula it is between 500 and 1.800 meters above sea level.
Caring for the Taxus baccata fastigiata
For planting the Taxus baccata fastigiata, care must be taken to carry out some treatments prior to seed germination, such as techniques such as layering, scraping, cold water soaking, prechilling, and even freezing.
Traditionally, the cultivation of the yew tree in the nursery has been carried out by vegetative propagation (cuttings), although in recent years the use of seed has become widespread, despite its germination difficulties. If we buy seeds, the acceptable values are between 95-98% purity and 98% germination power. As a guide, there are about 17 seeds per gram.
Yew seeds are usually sown in the fall and germinate in the first or second spring. Sowing is done in trays or boxes on special substrates for seedbeds. It can be used as a substrate for indoor plants, in both cases it must be kept moist until the seeds sprout.
These are spread over the substrate and immediately they are lightly covered with the same substrate or vermiculite to favor that the seeds have humidity in all their surface. Germination is epidermis, the seedling is 2-3 cm long, the original leaves are needle-shaped, eight whorls, greenish-yellow. When the seedlings have some true leaves, pierce them into the alveolar discs. These can be filled with special growing media or outdoor plants. The cultivation can be carried out in forest containers of 300 to 400 cm3 to obtain a final plant size of 15 to 40 cm in height to transplant to the field, garden or container. Remember that the yew grows slowly.
Gardening care
Like cypresses, which are very long-lived, yews have been used to decorate cemeteries since ancient times. But in gardening, especially in public, the yew has found a dominant role. It is used to form hedges and due to its sprouting capacity it has the potential to form a very leafy barrier, in addition its slow development prevents frequent pruning. Also as isolated trees that participate in the architecture of the garden with individuality. In many cases, pruning pruning techniques are even applied.
Its location is sunny, very rustic and with fresh soil it will grow well. Regarding its fertilization, is enough fertilization for the maintenance of the gardenIf chlorosis occurs, iron chelate should be added to the irrigation water from time to time at the dose recommended by the manufacturer to correct the situation.
Note that there are several varieties of yew, including several varieties with yellow leaves. It is important to remember that all parts of the yew plant, except the aril that covers the fruit, are poisonous. Roots, branches, trunks, leaves, seeds… all parts except the fleshy part are poisonous because its fruit is eaten by birds (the seeds are not digested by their digestive systems) to facilitate the spread of the species.
Although the practice of suicide with yew poison was very common among the ancient inhabitants of northern Spain, it is now very rare, and almost always, and if it occurs it is due to the consumption of its berries by a child attracted by the poison. The color of the aril and the taste quite sweet if its seeds are chewed. Let us remember, as a general rule, that the ingestion of the fruit does not cause damage, since the external skin of the seeds is not altered when passing through the digestive tract.
I hope that with this information you can learn more about the Taxus baccata fastigiata and their characteristics.