English Yew

Taxus baccata

Found in suburban woodlands, planted as hedges and ornamentals, escaping locally, as in Rock Creek Park, Washington, DC (Shetler & Orli 2000). Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you

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Not native

Not native to Virginia. How scores work Is it native here?

Profile 18%

Light: Light shade to full sun

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At a glance

Not yet recorded · Height · Spread · Soil · Life cycle · Leaves · Bloom

This plant is missing most of its facts, so Quercus is looking them up in old botany books.

Recorded in 3 Virginia counties.

Natural habitats

Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.

Forests and woodlands

Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.

All habitats

Ecological relationships

Who uses this plant?

What these records mean

6CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA

Genus host records with ranges including VA · Taxus

Cladara limitariaMottled Gray Carpet, Yellow-Lined Conifer Looper, Yellow-Lined Forest Looper, Black-Angled Wave
Eupithecia miserulataCommon Eupithacia, Common Pug
Hyalophora cecropiaCecropia Silkmoth, Cecropia Moth
Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
Platynota stultanaOmnivorous Leafroller

Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)

—BeesSoutheastern regional records

—Specialist beesPollen specialists

3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim

Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Taxus

Catharus fuscescensVeery
Dendragapus obscurusDusky Grouse
Hylocichla mustelinaWood Thrush

Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)

Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening

Growing and identification

Plant details

Family: Family not recorded

Safety has not been reviewed for this plant; check toxicity and thorns before planting.

Conservation status

Virginia rank	Not available
Global rank	Not available
VA status	Not verified
Federal status	Not verified

Conservation source

Native alternatives

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