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Yew

The Taxus Brevifolia is commonly known as Mountain Mahogany, Pacific Yew, Western Yew, Yew, as well as Yew Brush

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Growing Regions

Pacific yew grows along the Pacific Coast of southeastern Alaska southward through western British Columbia to central California [46,55]. In the Rocky Mountain region, it occurs from southeastern British Columbia through northwestern Montana and northern Idaho into eastern Washington and Oregon [46]. Dense stands of shrubby Pacific yew dominate approximately 40,000 acres (16,000 ha) in the South Fork of the Clearwater Drainage of north-central Idaho [14]. This plant has been essentially eliminated from another 9,880 acres (4,000 ha) by timber harvest [14].

     

General Information

The currently accepted scientific name of Pacific yew is Taxus brevifolia Nutt. [36]. Pacific yew is a member of the family Taxaceae [29].

Pacific yew grows as an understory dominant or codominant in a number of
coniferous forests of the Pacific Northwest and northern Rocky
Mountains.  Overstory dominants include grand fir (Abies grandis), white
fir (Abies concolor), and western hemlock (Tsuga heterophylla).  Vine
maple (Acer circinatum), queencup beadlily (Clintonia uniflora), and
wild ginger (Asarum caudatum) are common codominants.  In parts of
northern Idaho, Pacific yew grows as a climax dominant which forms a
nearly contiguous shrublike overstory.  It is listed as an indicator or
dominant in the following habitat type (hts), community type (cts), and
plant association (pas) classification schemes:

Area                   Classification          Authority

CA                     mixed evergreen cts     Sawyer and others 1977
CA, OR: Siskiyou Mtn.  forest pas              Atzet and Wheeler 1984
  Province
CA, OR: e Siskiyous    forest cts              Waring 1969
n ID                   forest cts, hts         Cooper and others 1987
OR: Abott Creek RNA    forest cts              Mitchell and Moir 1976
s OR: Cascade Mtns.    forest pas              Atzet and McCrimmon 1990
OR, ID: Wallowa-       general veg. pas        Johnson and Simon 1987
  Whitman NF                             
n Rocky Mountains      Pacific yew cts         Crawford and Johnson 1985

Much of the information presented here is attributed to:
Tirmenstein, D. A. 1990. Taxus brevifolia. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available at USDA Forest Service.

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