The yew is a broadly conical tree with spreading, horizontal branches, scaly purple-brown bark, and shoots that remain green for some years. The leaves are linear, dark green, shiny or opaque, 2-3cm long, with a lighter underside. In spring, it produces yellow male cones and fruits consisting of single green seeds with red, juicy arils that are edible (except the seeds which are poisonous). Widespread in central-southern Europe, it grows in shady woods on calcareous soils. This plant can live up to 2000 years. Broadly conical tree with spreading, horizontal branches, scaly, purple-brown bark and shoots that remain green for some years. The linear leaves, shiny or dull dark green in colour, 2-3cm long, lighter on the lower surface, are distichous and distributed on the two sides of the shoot. The yellow male cones emerge in spring. The fruits consist of single green seeds with juicy, sweet, usually red arils, 1cm wide. The yew is widespread in all regions of central-southern Europe, where it grows spontaneously in shady broad-leaved woods from 300 to 1500m, especially on calcareous soils. It is widely cultivated as an ornamental plant, for hedges, as it tolerates pruning well. The whole plant, excluding the red aril, is poisonous due to the presence of an alkaloid, taxine, which affects the heart; from this also derives the common name of "tree of death". The sweetish aril is edible if you take care not to chew the seeds, which are poisonous. This very long-lived and, in the past, much more widespread plant can even reach 2000 years of age.