Yew
Relatively soft needles attached singly to shoots via decurrent bases. All around on erect shoots, spreading to either side of the shoot but angled forwards on laterals. Uppersides dark green, undersides pale green with two indistinct whitish-green stomatal bands. Crushed needles with no scent.Shoots remaining green for several years before ripening to brown. Shade shoots often more sparsely needled. Buds small, rounded, and green. Male and female flowers on separate trees, females bearing bright red cup-shaped 'berries' with single dark seed in centre.
Yew is native to the British Isles and much of mainland Europe southwards to Morocco and Algeria, and east to Iran. It is present across the British Isles as a churchyard tree, as hedges, and shapely topiary in the grounds of stately homes. In the wider environment it is most prevalent over chalk or limestone, sometimes forming patches of single-species woodland as at Kingley Vale in Hampshire. Irish yews are a fastigiate cultivar frequently planted in churchyards, often as the striking golden-leaved form.