Yew trees / Yews / taxus baccata
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Most commonly found in Churchyards in the UK, thought to have been associated with death rites in pagan times. And the Church grafted over them.
But where they are found "in the wild", they become chambers
"in the shadow of Yew trees"
They create a new world, with a certain toxicity
But where they are found "in the wild", they become chambers
"in the shadow of Yew trees"
They create a new world, with a certain toxicity
On a strictly private estate in southeast
Scotland is an ancient yew of stupendous form.
Its morphology resembles a grove of ancient
yews at Traquair House in the Scottish Borders
which are thought to be over 1,000 years old
and remnants of the original wildwood of
Britain. Its home is a damp place, near a river
and overshadowed by the steep sides of a
valley and many taller trees. In the course of a
year direct sunlight levels are low but yews can
still thrive in such shady conditions - and they
do.
Standard ways of estimating the age of a yew
by girth measurement are impossible here and
dendrochronology would be extremely difficult.
Given the location and the direction of fallen
debris under the yew it seems it may have
regularly suffered from flood damage, as has
an avenue planted at Traquair House positioned
near the river Tweed and pushed stems onto the
ground. But the roots of the yew have held firm
and fast and it has not been toppled. Despite
appearances, this yew is fine. The branches of
decaying sapwood, left in situ rather than being
tidied up for aesthetic purposes, are vital to the
microhabitat and not only for the yew
nutritional needs but also for insects for
example. This yew may look wrecked, decrepit
and on it's way out but nothing could be further
from the truth.
Approaching this yew from one direction gives
no clue it is unusual in any way as there are fine
bushes of growth at the end of layered
branches. But approach it from the other and an
entirely different picture is set before the eyes. A
huge entangled, pyramidal mass of stems and
storm damaged branches, moistened due to the
conditions, gleam and shine and reveal deep
saturated tones of red, purple - and orange
-
flames licking across the bark. In some areas of
branch decay it is startling to see inside the
branch something which clearly resembles the
appearance of red meat.
The centre of the yew is a knot of weft and
weaving trunk and branches and with a thin
canopy this is not a gloomy place as it may
seem to some on a wet grey day in January
when the images were taken. In full sunshine
this would be a gentle, mesmerising glade of
dappling light, possibly still displaying the
scarlets, crimsons and oranges in its dampest
places even at midsummer.
This a yew best summed up in an Anglo-Saxon
rune poem:
The yew is a tree with rough bark
Hard and fast in the earth,
Supported by its roots,
A guardian of flame
And a joy upon an estate.
Text and images copyright Paul W
Greenwood/SYTHI All Rights Reserved
+7
❤75
Scotland is an ancient yew of stupendous form.
Its morphology resembles a grove of ancient
yews at Traquair House in the Scottish Borders
which are thought to be over 1,000 years old
and remnants of the original wildwood of
Britain. Its home is a damp place, near a river
and overshadowed by the steep sides of a
valley and many taller trees. In the course of a
year direct sunlight levels are low but yews can
still thrive in such shady conditions - and they
do.
Standard ways of estimating the age of a yew
by girth measurement are impossible here and
dendrochronology would be extremely difficult.
Given the location and the direction of fallen
debris under the yew it seems it may have
regularly suffered from flood damage, as has
an avenue planted at Traquair House positioned
near the river Tweed and pushed stems onto the
ground. But the roots of the yew have held firm
and fast and it has not been toppled. Despite
appearances, this yew is fine. The branches of
decaying sapwood, left in situ rather than being
tidied up for aesthetic purposes, are vital to the
microhabitat and not only for the yew
nutritional needs but also for insects for
example. This yew may look wrecked, decrepit
and on it's way out but nothing could be further
from the truth.
Approaching this yew from one direction gives
no clue it is unusual in any way as there are fine
bushes of growth at the end of layered
branches. But approach it from the other and an
entirely different picture is set before the eyes. A
huge entangled, pyramidal mass of stems and
storm damaged branches, moistened due to the
conditions, gleam and shine and reveal deep
saturated tones of red, purple - and orange
-
flames licking across the bark. In some areas of
branch decay it is startling to see inside the
branch something which clearly resembles the
appearance of red meat.
The centre of the yew is a knot of weft and
weaving trunk and branches and with a thin
canopy this is not a gloomy place as it may
seem to some on a wet grey day in January
when the images were taken. In full sunshine
this would be a gentle, mesmerising glade of
dappling light, possibly still displaying the
scarlets, crimsons and oranges in its dampest
places even at midsummer.
This a yew best summed up in an Anglo-Saxon
rune poem:
The yew is a tree with rough bark
Hard and fast in the earth,
Supported by its roots,
A guardian of flame
And a joy upon an estate.
Text and images copyright Paul W
Greenwood/SYTHI All Rights Reserved
+7
❤75
Paintings by Welsh artist Janis Fry
"The God Tree"
"The Magna Carta Yew"
"Stairway to Heaven"
"Yew and Well (3)"
"The Golden Bough"
"The God Tree"
"The Magna Carta Yew"
"Stairway to Heaven"
"Yew and Well (3)"
"The Golden Bough"
Janis Fry Art - Paintings
Janis Fry's paintings of Yew trees mythological scenes and landscapes
www.janisfry.co.uk
Some might say the Yew, in "overgrounding" it's re-rooting, making visible it's regeneration, is challenging the arboreal/rhizomatic binary.
ofthegoodtree.wordpress.com
The Ancient Yew, Tree of Regeneration
The European Yew tree, or Taxus baccata is a Conifer tree native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia. As it is a conifer tree, it is e…
ofthegoodtree.wordpress.com
Murphy
cat malogen
They are incredible features in any setting, particularly as a pair outside church entrances. Been exploring the Dales over winter more and despite being a lapsed catholic and christendom ending in many places, so many church grounds still retain their ethereal presence mixing elegance and heft
I love alders for their chevron mishmash of branch structure and groups of beeches surrounded our old home in Newark. When we moved further into the city, seriously missed the trees previously landmarking home. They were like old friends
But the yew is entirely different again. Full grown they have mad girth, like barrel-chested props in rugby. I love the way they weather the elements. We had one near my old school that had been lopped and allowed to grow out more, so it was like a massive nest to explore. Their terpenes (smell) associated with yews is toxic to certain herbivores so the fact animals wouldnt predate on them was a possible indicator they held special virtues, virtues to be enfolded into notions of the sacred
I love alders for their chevron mishmash of branch structure and groups of beeches surrounded our old home in Newark. When we moved further into the city, seriously missed the trees previously landmarking home. They were like old friends
But the yew is entirely different again. Full grown they have mad girth, like barrel-chested props in rugby. I love the way they weather the elements. We had one near my old school that had been lopped and allowed to grow out more, so it was like a massive nest to explore. Their terpenes (smell) associated with yews is toxic to certain herbivores so the fact animals wouldnt predate on them was a possible indicator they held special virtues, virtues to be enfolded into notions of the sacred
william_kent
Well-known member
from Robert Graves - The White Goddess
there's loads more that came from...
almost every churchyard you visit will have an old yew, but they tend to be "managed" ie the re-rooting process has been purposely stopped.
and they will kill any grazers foolhardy enough to try it. regularly dead sheep/deer/dogs reported.
the toxic dose for humans is quite high.
i think a couple hundred grams or so of the leaves particularly, but also the seeds within the red arils (the fleshy part of the aril is apparently really nice and sweet, not toxic). there are a few deaths of humans reported from yews.
dunno what you mean - i'm not on x...
the other thing is that there is a yew derived compound which can lock cancer, basically stops the cancerous cells spreading.
and re the poison, there's an idea of the yew tunnels / sitting under the branches, that you get a gentle whiff of the poison and it's mildly hallucinogenic.
and re the poison, there's an idea of the yew tunnels / sitting under the branches, that you get a gentle whiff of the poison and it's mildly hallucinogenic.
i did start reading the white goddess, and actually really liked the intro and got as far as battle of the trees... but it was before i got into trees proper and he's also a bit "thick" in his writing i feel.
but loads of the people i'm now reading on trees rate graves. i'll pick it up again in due course.
the golden fleece ie jason and argonauts story is a yew thing, and it's also the golden bough.
some yews, at certain times, produce this singular silvery/gold bough. rare but lots of examples.
the one near me is male but the other odd thing about yews is that they may produce a female part and vice versa.
dunning says they are pre-seasonal, hence the evergreen but not in a trad coniferous way, with cones. exist outside conventional notions of time.
some yews, at certain times, produce this singular silvery/gold bough. rare but lots of examples.
the one near me is male but the other odd thing about yews is that they may produce a female part and vice versa.
dunning says they are pre-seasonal, hence the evergreen but not in a trad coniferous way, with cones. exist outside conventional notions of time.
they call it molly these days
it's the new brooklyn hipster thing - posting pictures of trees while indoors on molly
is this you singing? good stuff. tight rhymes, did you get an AI to do the lyrics?