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Wasowski, Sally and Andy

Taxus floridana

Taxus floridana Nutt. ex Chapm.

Florida Yew

Taxaceae (Yew Family)

Synonym(s): Taxus canadensis ssp. floridana, Taxus globosa var. floridana

USDA Symbol: TAFL

USDA Native Status: L48 (N)

Florida Yew is an evergreen shrub or small tree, rarely to 25 ft (7.6 m) and usually less than 15 ft (4.6 m) tall. It has numerous spreading, horizontal branches that give it a bushy appearance. The leaves are needle-like and flat, about 1 in (2.5 cm) long and grow in two horizontal ranks on opposite sides of the twigs. The bark is purplish-brown, smooth on young stems and separating into thin irregular scales on older branches. Florida Yew is dioecious and in October the female plants bear oval, half-inch long fruits that consist of a single yellowish-brown seed partly enclosed in a fleshy red cup.

This rare species is threatened with extinction because of its very limited distribution. Torreya State Park near Bristol, Florida, preserves it as well as Florida Torreya (Torreya taxifolia Arn.), and it is in cultivation in botanical gardens. As with other yews, the seeds and foliage are poisonous and can be fatal when eaten by people or livestock. The red juicy cup around the seed, however, is apparently harmless. Canada Yew (Taxus canadensis Marsh.), is a related poisonous low shrub with shorter straight needles and similar seeds in a red cup. It ranges from southeastern Canada and northeastern United States west to Minnesota and south locally to Virginia and Tennessee.

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