# Pacific Yew (Taxus brevifolia)

> Pacific yew, Taxus brevifolia: a small tree of 20 to 60 feet for zones 4 to 10, when it sheds pollen and fruits, and the natives we grow for the same ground.

Blue Whale Trees, a native tree nursery in the United States. Web version: https://bluewhaletrees.com/species/pacific-yew/

![A Pacific yew trunk with thin, flaking purple-gray bark and red patches, framed by flat needles](https://bluewhaletrees.com/img/species/pacific-yew-1000.jpg?v=d25c05f6 "Pacific yew bark and foliage, photographed on August 13, 2010. Trees can reach maturity at 250 to 350 years of age.")
*Photo: JOE BLOWE, [CC BY-SA 2.0](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0) ([source](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File%3ATaxus_brevifolia_bark_-_Flickr_-_theforestprimeval.jpg))*

Small tree, 20 to 60 feet, zones 4 to 10; full sun, part shade or shade; dry or average ground.

We do not grow Pacific yew, and it is not in our shop. This page gathers what our tools say about it and the natives we grow for the same ground.

## At a glance

| Fact | Pacific Yew |
| --- | --- |
| Other names | Western yew, Oregon yew |
| Form | Small tree |
| Height, feet | 20 to 60; up to 65 in its native stands |
| Spread, feet | Up to 30 |
| Zones | 4 to 10 |
| Sun | Full sun, part shade or shade |
| Soil moisture | Dry or average ground |
| Growth | Slow |
| Leaves | Evergreen |
| Traits | Wildlife value, hedge or screen, erosion control |
| Pollen | March to July |
| Fruit | Arils, July to October |
| Pollination | Separate male and female trees. Male and female cones grow on separate trees, so a female tree bears its red, berrylike fruit only with a male nearby. |
| Lifespan | Is mature at 250 to 350 years. |
| Black walnut | Not named on the Morton Arboretum's lists |
| Toxicity | The seeds, leaves and bark are poisonous to people, dogs and cats. |
| Ground | The forest understory, stream banks and rich moist slopes |
| Native in | 7 states |

Pacific yew is native in 7 states: [Alaska](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=AK), [California](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=CA), [Idaho](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=ID), [Montana](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=MT), [Nevada](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=NV), [Oregon](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=OR) and [Washington](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/native/index.html.md?state=WA). The states are the USDA PLANTS Database's records, with the native range read from Silvics of North America, the Fire Effects Information System, the Gymnosperm Database, the Wildflower Center and NC State Extension.

## What our tools say

- [How fast it grows and how big it gets, by site](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/growth/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the growth estimator
- [Whether it suits your zone, sun and soil](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/site-check/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the planting-site check
- [How far from a house, wires and a septic field](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/distance/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew&near=house,septic,pavement,wires,boundary,tree): the planting-distance tool
- [What grows with it in the wild and in a yard](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the companion species tool
- [When to plant it where you live](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/planting-window/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the planting-window tool
- [When it sheds pollen and fruits, month by month](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/calendar/index.html.md?plants=pacific-yew): the bloom and fruit calendar
- [How to sow its seed, with dates for your place](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/sowing/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the seed sowing planner
- [How many to plant for a crop of seed](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/pollination/index.html.md?plants=pacific-yew:5): the pollination planner
- [Whether one you have can be moved, and what the move takes](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/transplant/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the transplant planner
- [How old one is, from its trunk](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/tree-age/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the tree age calculator
- [How a big one scores against the champion trees](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/big-tree/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew): the big-tree measurer

## For the same ground, we grow

- [Chokecherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/chokecherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus virginiana*): small tree, 20 to 30 feet, zones 2 to 10. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [American Plum](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-plum/index.html.md) (*Prunus americana*): small tree, 15 to 25 feet, zones 3 to 8. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Peachleaf Willow](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/peachleaf-willow/index.html.md) (*Salix amygdaloides*): medium tree, 35 to 60 feet, zones 2 to 8. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Black Cherry](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/black-cherry/index.html.md) (*Prunus serotina*): large tree, 50 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares rich moist slopes in the wild.
- [American Elm](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/american-elm/index.html.md) (*Ulmus americana*): large tree, 60 to 80 feet, zones 2 to 9. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Tamarack](https://bluewhaletrees.com/plants/tamarack/index.html.md) (*Larix laricina*): large tree, 50 to 75 feet, zones 2 to 6. Shares stream banks in the wild.
- [Every companion of Pacific yew in the companion species tool](https://bluewhaletrees.com/tools/companions/index.html.md?species=pacific-yew)

## Read from

Its figures come from Silvics of North America, the Forest Service's Fire Effects Information System, the Woody Plant Seed Manual, the USDA PLANTS Database, the Wildflower Center, Cal Poly's SelecTree, the Jepson eFlora, the Gymnosperm Database, NC State Extension and Oregon State University's Landscape Plants.