NATURE FOCUS YEW
YEW is an evergreen conifer which is native to Europe and North Africa, and is one of three conifers native in the UK, the others being juniper and Scots pine.
Unlike many other conifers it does not produce its seeds in a cone, its single seed is instead contained within a red, fleshy berry-like fruit which is open at the top, known as an aril.
The foliage and seed are coated with a mix of highly toxic alkaloids, but the red aril is not toxic and is a particular favourite of blackbirds which aid in seed dispersal.
Some birds such as greenfinches have developed a feeding technique where they can remove the toxic seed coat and feast on the nutritious embryo. The yew stones are extremely hard, but the small kernels inside these stones are a delicacy sought by one bird that can crack open the yew stone and other fruit stones.
This bird is the hawfinch and its large bill can exert a massive force of 180 pounds per square inch. Hawfinches are uncommon and localised residents and a winter visitor in Nottinghamshire, mainly in the Dukeries area in the north west of Nottinghamshire. During winter they can sometimes be spotted in the tall trees in the car park at Rufford Abbey, and around the Chapel in Clumber Park where there several yews.
Yew trees can grow up to 20m in height and are believed to be among the longest-lived trees in Europe, typically reaching 400 to 600 years of age. Ten yew trees in Britain are believed to have been growing since before the 10th century and the Scottish “Fortingall yew” in Glen Lyon has been estimated to be anything from over two thousand to nine thousand years old!
Yew is a dioecious tree in that the male and female flowers that appear in March and April grow on separate trees.
The small male flowers are white-yellow and the scaly female flowers are initially green, becoming brown and acorn-like on maturing. Yews often forms the understory in beech woodland.
Yew trees are typically associated with churchyards. The reason for this association is not fully understood although it has been suggested that they were planted on the graves of plague victims to protect and purify the dead.
A more credible reason is that their poisonous leaves, bark, and berries act as deterrent to livestock. Due to their longevity they were also seen as symbols of immortality with branches being carried at funerals and on Palm Sunday.
The wildlife that benefit from yew trees is diverse. As well as the blackbirds and thrushes that feed on the berries’ arils, the UK’S smallest bird, the goldcrest, nests in the tree’s canopy.
The old, gnarly trunks with their myriad of gaps and splits provide ideal nesting habitats for owls and lesser spotted woodpeckers as well providing homes for mammals such as bats and squirrels.
The reddish-purple peeling bark also provides attractive habitats for insects and spiders which in turn provide a good food source for insectivorous birds such a tree creepers.
Whilst beneficial to many animal species it is very poisonous to cows and horses although deer can eat yew due to their naturally developed tolerance.