brevi – short (Latin)

folia – leaves (Latin)

Native range: Pacific Northwest

Leaves:

• needles flat
• 2–3 cm long
• dull green above, striped with stomata below
• ending abruptly in fine point
• arranged in two rows (ranks) in flat sprays
• new growth of stems is green

Cones:

• male and female cones are inconspicuous
• dioecious
• instead of seed cone, produces a singly bony seed with bright red aril

Other characteristics:

• thunk is limby and often contorted, the branches spreading or drooping
• bark very thin, consisting of purplish scales covering the reddish or reddish-purple inner bark

Relevant info:

• aril is poisonous to humans
• bark contains taxol, a compound used to treat cancer
• heavy, dense wood was used by Native Americans/First Nations to carve implements such as bows, mat-sewing needles, dip-net frames, and canoe spreaders

Ecology & Adaptations:

• in the southern PNW coast, open to deep, usually moist mature forest from sea level to middle elevations in the mountains, often with Doug-fir and w. hemlock in old-growth forests as a small understory tree
• from Vancouver Island north, in low-elevation, open, scrubby redcedar-w. hemlock forests, as a mid-canopy or understory tree or shrub
• in Alaska and Northern mainland BC, only within a few kilometers of shoreline
• abundance increases with increasing precipitation.
• seed dispersal:
  • fleshy aril attracts songbirds, such as thrushes which disperse seed
  • also eaten by ringtails (relative of raccoon)
• wildlife - leaves and sometimes bark browsed by deer, elk and moose, especially in winter
• allopathy - limits competition from other plants by producing compounds in leaves that leach from the litter and inhibit seedling growth of other species
• most shade tolerant tree in the PNW
• temperature sensitive and may require shade in less humid climates
• vegetative reproduction – establishes beneath closed canopy by seed or layering
  • layering enables Pacific yew to quickly expand into gaps created as nearby senescent conifers fall
  • sprouts generally develop from broken stumps
• herbivory defense – multiple compounds (terpenes, phenyl-butanoids, taxane) in needles deter herbivory and prevent microbial infection
• sensitive to fire, even low-intensity fire, due to thin bark