Plant Data Sheet
Pacific Yew / Taxus brevifolia
Range
Southern tip of southeast Alaska south through the Pacific Coast region of British Columbia and the Olympic Peninsula of Washington, as far south in the coastal range as northern California, scattered in the Cascade range, inland the Yew grows on the western slopes of the Rocky Mountains in British Columbia south to western Montana. (1)
Climate
Cool temperate and cool mesothermal climates (2)
Elevation
Low to middle elevations in the PNW (3)
Local occurrence
Moist, mature forest, (3) it’s occurrence increases with increasing precipitation and decreases with increasing latitude and elevation (2)
Habitat preferences
Shade tolerant, submontane to subalpine, (2)
Plant strategy type/successional stage
In productive old growth forests as an understorey tree, at low, open elevations, as a mid-canopy or understorey tree (3) tolerant of shade (1)
Associated species
Doug fir and western hemlock in old growth forests, red cedar and western hemlock (3), Berberis nervosa, Polystichum munitum, Acer circinatum, Tsuga heterophylla, Gaultheria shallon (1)
Collection
restrictions or guidelines
Fruit ripens in late summer (August) to autumn (October), fruits should be picked from the branches by hand as they ripen to avoid loss to birds (4)
Seed germination
Natural germination does not take place until the second year, strong but variable dormancy, broken by warm plus cold stratification, recommended 90-210 days at 60° F and then 60-120 days at 36-41° F (4)
Vegetative
regeneration
Layering and often sprouts from stumps or rootstocks (1)
Seed life
Fruits are frequently eaten by birds and rodents which void the seeds in viable condition (1) no information on life of seeds
Recommended seed
storage conditions
Propagation
recommendations
Yew seeds sown in nursery beds in late spring require mulching, shade during the summer and in December (1),
Soil or medium
requirements
Fresh to moist, nitrogen rich soils, frequent on water
receiving sites (2) heavy in organic matter (1)
Installation form
Young plants from seeds
Recommended planting
density
Care requirements
after installed (water weekly, water once etc.)
Normal rate of growth
or spread; lifespan
Grows slowly, taking the same amount of time to grow 30 cm d.b.h. as other conifers, height growth is also slow, annual growth in diameter at 15 cm above ground to range from 0.05cm to 0.25 cm (1)
Sources cited
(1) Burns, R.M. and B.H. Honkala. 1990. Silvics of North America.
Volume 1, Conifers. Agriculture Handbook 654,
(2) Klinka, K, Krajina,
V.J., Ceska, A. and A.M. Scagel. 1989.
Indicator Plants of Coastal
(3) Pojar, J. and MacKinnon,
A. 1994.
Plants of the
(4) Toogood, A. 1999.
Plant Propagation. American Horticultural Society. D.K. Pulblishing
Inc.,
Data compiled by: Lizbeth Seebacher