English Yew, Taxus Baccata, Tree Seeds (Evergreen, Topiary) 30 Seeds Taxus baccata, commonly called English Yew, is a long-lived, evergreen, conical tree that is native to Europe, Southwestern Asia and Northern Africa. It typically grows to 30 to 60 feet tall. Old trees usually develop thick trunks with scaly reddish-brown bark. Lustrous, flat-needled, two-ranked, dark green foliage (needles to 1 1/2 inches long) is attractive year round. Young shoots emerge light green. Although classified as a conifer, female yews (plants are dioecious) do not produce cones, but instead produce red, ornamentally attractive, berry-like fruits, each having a single seed almost completely surrounded by a fleshy red aril. Birds will feed on the berry-like fruits and help spread plants to other locations. All parts of the tree are highly toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds. The seeds are eaten by some bird species. The aril is not poisonous and is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. The English Yew is extremely long-lived. In Great Britain and in Normandy, there are many Yews dating back around the year 1000 and some of them around 500. The Fortingall Yew is commonly believed to be the oldest one, with an estimated age between 2000 and 4000 years old, growing in a Scottish church yard. Genus name comes from the old Latin name for yews. Specific epithet means fruit-bearing in reference to the showy red arils.