yew

1. any coniferous tree of the genus Taxus, of the Old World and North America, esp T. baccata, having flattened needle-like leaves, fine-grained elastic wood, and solitary seeds with a red waxy aril resembling berries: family Taxaceae

2. the wood of any of these trees, used to make bows for archery

3. Archery a bow made of yew

Collins Discovery Encyclopedia, 1st edition © HarperCollins Publishers 2005

yew

[yü]

(botany)

A genus of evergreen trees and shrubs, Taxus, with the fruit, an aril, containing a single seed surrounded by a scarlet, fleshy, cuplike envelope; the leaves are flat and acicular.

yew

traditionally planted in churchyards; symbol of deathlessness. [Br. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 1171]

See: Immortality

yew

tree symbolizes grief. [Flower Symbolism: Flora Symbolica, 178]

See: Melancholy

yew

symbol of immortality; hence, planted in churchyards and near Druid temples. [Br. Legend: Brewer Dictionary, 967]

See: Trees

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References in periodicals archive

From what he saw, Lee Kuan Yew was not best impressed.

What Africa can learn from Singapore (part 1)

Yew wood is of very good quality because it is hard, compact, tough and elastic, easy to work, can be bent by vapour, turned and polished.

Holocene history of Taxus baccata in the Basque Mountains (Northern Iberian Peninsula)/Historia holocena de Taxus baccata en las Montanas Vascas (Norte de la Peninsula Iberica)

In total, Cllr Radford said, the West Derby centre could be run at 75% of the cost of the Yew Tree Surestart.

BATTLE OVER WHICH SURESTART TO SAVE; Criticism on costs as sites face the axe

The yews have grown from saplings into mature trees creating solid walls twisting and turning into the centre along 1,200 metres of grass pathways.

A FEW TWISTS TO COME AS MAZE'S REPUTATION GROWS

During his trip, Yew Kiat said he met an old man who had been blind for 10 years due to a cataract infection and had never seen his grandchildren.

Singapore FSN helps prevent blindness

The MBRAM Foundation offers scholarships to postgraduate students in public administration (MPA) at the Dubai School of Government (DSG), which has a partnership agreement with the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy.

Singapore honours Dubai foundation

The yew shapes are one of the most fascinating features of the five-and-half

HEDGES YIELD LIFE-SAVING FRUG

But it is not clear if he met Singapore's elder statesman Lee Kuan Yew, who has close relations with leaders of both China and Taiwan, to discuss cross-straits ties.

Taiwan opposition leader Lien Chan visits Singapore

Allan Thompson, of Yew Tree House, said: "Everyone here suspects that the duke wants to fell that tree and widen the bridleway so he can open up the field at the back for housing."

Root of problem

Another shrubby Pacific coast original first noted by Lewis and Clark is Pacific yew (Taxus brevifolia).

A realm of American originals: three hundred years after the Voyage of Discovery, the findings of Lewis and Clark are still affecting our everyday lives

Angela Hoffman, an associate professor of chemistry and physics at the University of Portland in Oregon--a state where hazelnut trees are grown in orchards--says certain varieties of the hazelnut tree produce as much as one-tenth of the paclitaxel found in the Pacific yew tree.

Going Nuts over Paclitaxel

Pacific yew had been the only source of paclitaxel, a costly drug ingredient that's in high demand.

Nutty and fungi-ble taxol sources