Evergreen, needles are green above and below, about 1 inch long, sharp pointed and stalked with a base that continues down the side of the smooth twig. The berrylike fruit is an aril which is a juicy, scarlet red fleshy cuplike dish surrounding a single seed which is poisonous. Scattered in northern and high mountain counties of Fayette, Greenbrier, Hancock, Marion, Mercer, Mineral, Pendleton, Pocahontas, Preston, Randolph, Summers, Taylor, Tucker and Wetzel. Cool, shady woods at high elevations or low elevations in deep cold ravines. Deer will browse yew to the point of destroying the shrubs.
Rabbits also browse yew.
The fruits are eaten by grouse, cedar waxwings, robins, bluejays and squirrels. The dense evergreen foliage provides excellent shelter and nest sites for rodents, chipmunks, and ground dwelling songbirds. Heavy to partial shade. Wet to moist loamy soils. Red fruits contain poisonous seeds and are attractive to children.