 | Taxus canadensis Marshall 1785Common NamesCanada yew, American yew, ground-hemlock, li du Canada, sapin trainard (1).Taxonomic notesSyn: Taxus baccata Linnaeus subsp. canadensis (Marshall) Pilger; T. baccata var. minor Michaux; T. minor (Michaux) Britton; T. procumbens Loddiges (2).Description"Shrubs to 2 m, usually monoecious, low, diffusely branched, straggling, spreading to prostrate. Bark reddish, very thin. Branches spreading and ascending. Leaves 1-2.5 cm ´ 1-2.4 mm, pale green abaxially, mostly without cuticular papillae along stomatal bands, dark green to yellow-green adaxially, epidermal cells as viewed in cross section of leaf wider than tall or ± isodiametric. Seed somewhat flattened, 4-5 mm. 2n = 24. Seeds maturing late summer - early fall" (1).RangeCanada: extreme SE Manitoba, Ontario, Québec, Prince Edward Island, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland; France: St. Pierre and Miquelon; USA: Connecticut, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, New Hampshire, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Vermont, Virginia, Wisconsin, and West Virginia; at 0 - 1500 m elevation as an understory shrub in rich forests (deciduous, mixed, or coniferous), or in bogs, swamps, gorges, ravine slopes, and rocky banks (1).Big TreeSome wild plants are said to reach 3.7 m tall and have an arboreal growth form (2).OldestDendrochronologyEthnobotany"Abenaki infused the leaves for rheumatism. Algonquin boiled the needles with wild cherry for rheumatism, taking the tea after childbirth. Chippewa employed the twig decoction, externally or internally, for rheumatism. Malecite employed the plant to bring out clots and alleviate pain following childbirth. Canada's Maritime employed yew for afterbirth, clots, fever, pain, and scurvy. Menominee steamed the plant in herbal sweat baths for numbness, paralysis, and rheumatism. Micmac used it for bowel ailments, fever, and scurvy. Montagnai use it with Lycopodium for debility and fever. Ojibwa used leaf decoction for arthritis. Penobscot steeped the leaves for colds. Potawatomi used the leaf decoction as a diuretic, for gonorrhea. Tete-de-Boule infused the twigs with ash for dysmenorrhea and stomachache" (Duke 1986, cited in [2]). No data on whether it is used by Euroamericans.ObservationsRemarksCitations(1) Hils, Matthew H. at the Flora of North America web site.(2) Hartzell 1991. |
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