Yew

Yew wood is very tough and elastic, a consequence of the structural qualities of its elongated, water-conducting cells known as tracheids. The wood of yews is of minor commercial importance. However, it is prized for certain uses in which strength and flexibility are required. During medieval times in western Europe, the wood of European yew trees was favored for the manufacture of bows. Today, bows are mostly made of synthetic materials, but some traditional archers still like to use bows made from yew. Canoe paddles are also sometimes carved from yew wood.

Yews are very popular shrubs in horticulture, probably being used more commonly than any other types of conifers. Various species are cultivated, but the European yew is the most common, and it is available in a number of cultivated varieties, or cultivars. It is quite easy to propagate desired cultivars of yews because these plants will root from stem cuttings, a relatively unusual trait for a conifer.

Yews are commonly used to accent the lines of buildings, or to create interesting entrances around doors. Very attractive hedges can also be developed using dense plantings of yews, which may be sheared to achieve a desired shape.

Sometimes, the dense foliage of taller yews is sheared in interesting ways to create a special visual effect. For example, yews can be trimmed to develop globular or cubed shapes, or to look like animals of various sorts. Yews are best sheared in the late summer.

Other yews that are commonly used in horticulture are the Japanese yew (T. cuspidata) and the columnar-shaped T. hicksi and T. hilli, all originally from Asia. These and some other species of yews have been widely introduced into North America and elsewhere as attractive species in horticulture. However, there is no indication that any of these non-native yews have escaped from cultivation and become invasive pests of natural habitats.