Stinking Yew Tree Information

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Images of Stinking Yew:

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Stinking Yew grows in the following 1 states and provinces:

California

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Information about Stinking Yew:

The Torreya Californica is commonly known as the California Nutmeg, California Torreya, Stinking Cedar, Stinking Nutmeg as well as Stinking Yew.

The currently accepted scientific name of California torreya is Torreya californica Torr.; it is in the yew family (Taxaceae) . There are no subspecies, varieties, or forms .

California torreya is endemic to California. Its range has two distinct parts: one in the Coast Ranges and one in the Cascade-Sierra Nevada foothills. In the Coast Ranges, it is distributed from southwest Trinity County south to Monterey County. In the Cascade-Sierra Nevada foothills, it is distributed from Shasta County south to Tulare County . Although not rare, it is not an abundant species. Local occurrence is widely scattered throughout its range , and trees are often infrequent in these localities .

California torreya is plastic is its habitat requirements, and occurs in many diverse plant communities. In the Coast Ranges, it grows in chaparral and various coastal forests such as redwood (Sequoia sempervirens). It is associated with canyon live oak (Quercus chrysolepis) and California bay (Umbellularia californica) woodlands in both coastal and inland foothill regions . Inland populations are most commonly found in the ponderosa pine (Pinus ponderosa) belt . It is rare in chaparral communities of the Cascade-Sierra Nevada. It is not a dominant or indicator species in community or vegetation typings.

Some of the information provided here is attributed to:Howard, Janet L. 1992. Torreya californica. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online]. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station, Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). , available at the USDA Fire Effects Information System (FEIS) website