Yew

Three species of yew grow naturally in North America. The Pacific or western yew (Taxus brevifolia) is the only species that reaches the size of a small tree, typically 19-39 ft (6-12 m) tall, but as tall as 75 ft (23 m). The western yew is a species of the sub-canopy of conifer rain forests of the Pacific coast, ranging from central California to southern Alaska. The species also occurs on the relatively moist, western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in Washington and southern British Columbia. The western yew is relatively widespread in mature, conifer-dominated rainforests, but it is rarely abundant.

The Florida yew (T. floridana) is a rare, small tree that occurs in northern Florida. The Canadian yew (T. canadensis), also known as ground hemlock or poison hemlock, is relatively widely distributed in coniferous and mixed-wood forests of cool-temperate regions of eastern North America. The European or English yew (T. baccata) of Europe and Asia is a relatively tall species, which can grow to almost 65 ft (20 m) in height.