Taxus canadensis
Taxus canadensis, the Canada yew[2] or Canadian yew, is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, riverbanks and on lake shores. Locally called simply "yew", this species is also referred to as American yew or ground-hemlock.
| Canada yew | |
|---|---|
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Scientific classification  | |
| Kingdom: | Plantae |
| Clade: | Tracheophytes |
| Clade: | Gymnosperms |
| Division: | Pinophyta |
| Class: | Pinopsida |
| Order: | Cupressales |
| Family: | Taxaceae |
| Genus: | Taxus |
| Species: | T. canadensis |
| Binomial name | |
| Taxus canadensis | |
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| Natural range of T. canadensis | |
| Synonyms[2][3] | |
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Most of its range is well north of the Ohio River. It is, however, found as a rare ice age relict in some coves of the Appalachian Mountains. The southernmost colonies are known from Ashe and Watauga Counties in North Carolina.[4]
Description and ecology
It is usually a sprawling shrub, rarely exceeding 2.5 m tall. It sometimes forms strong upright central leaders, but these cannot be formed from spreading branches, only from the original leader of the seedling plant. The shrub has thin scaly brown bark. The leaves (needles) are lanceolate, flat, dark green, 1–2.5 cm (3⁄8–1 inch) long and 1–2.4 mm (0.039–0.094 inches) broad,[3] arranged in two flat rows either side of the branch.
The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, open at the end. The seeds are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the (highly toxic)[5] hard seeds undamaged in their droppings. The male cones are globose, 3 mm in diameter. It is a monoecious plant – one of the few in the genus.
Uses and traditions
All parts of Canadian yew, save the aril, are toxic; it is, however, thought to be of lower toxicity than T. baccata.
Native Americans in its native range used small quantities of yew leaf tea topically or internally for a variety of ailments – notably rheumatism. They are also been said to have used yew twigs in steam baths to help alleviate rheumatism. Again, the plant is quite toxic and modern herbalists prefer safer, more effective herbs.
Taxus canadensis is also being harvested in northern Ontario, Québec and Atlantic Canada as the plant is a source of the class of poisonous chemicals known as taxanes, which have been a focus for cancer research.[6] T. canadensis is much more abundant than the near-threatened Taxus brevifolia (Pacific yew), and the "greens" (new growth) can be harvested sustainably every five years, instead of stripping the bark and killing the plant.
The most abundant taxane in T. canadensis is 9-dihydro-13-acetylbaccatin III, which can be effectively converted to 10-deacetylbaccatin III, used in the production of paclitaxel.[7] Two additional taxanes have been identified from T. canadensis, including 7β,10β,13α-triacetoxy-5α-(3'-dimethylamino-3'-phenylpropanoyl)oxy-2α-hydroxy-2(3→20)abeotaxa-4(20),11-dien-9-one; and 2α,10β-diacetoxy-9α-hydroxy-5α-(3'-dimethylamino-3'-phenylpropanoyl)oxy-3,11-cyclotax-4(20)-en-13-one.[8]
References
- Thomas, P. (2013). "Taxus canadensis". IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. 2013: e.T42547A2986960. doi:10.2305/IUCN.UK.2013-1.RLTS.T42547A2986960.en. Retrieved 19 November 2021.
- USDA, NRCS (n.d.). "Taxus canadensis". The PLANTS Database (plants.usda.gov). Greensboro, North Carolina: National Plant Data Team. Retrieved 8 December 2015.
- Hils, Matthew H. (1993). "Taxus canadensis". In Flora of North America Editorial Committee (ed.). Flora of North America North of Mexico (FNA). Vol. 2. New York and Oxford: Oxford University Press – via eFloras.org, Missouri Botanical Garden, St. Louis, MO & Harvard University Herbaria, Cambridge, MA.
- Oakley, Shawn C. (2000). An Inventory of the Significant Natural Areas of Watauga County, North Carolina (Report). N.C. Natural Heritage Program, Div. of Parks and Rec. p. 27. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- Elias, Thomas S.; Dykeman, Peter A. (2009) [1982]. Edible Wild Plants: A North American Field Guide to Over 200 Natural Foods. New York: Sterling. p. 271. ISBN 978-1-4027-6715-9. OCLC 244766414.
- "Harvesting Canada Yew – Information for Landowners". Ontario Ministry of Natural Resources. Retrieved 2013-09-09.
- Nikolakakis, A; Caron, G; Cherestes, A; Sauriol, F; Mamer, O; Zamir, LO (2000). "Taxus canadensis abundant taxane: Conversion to paclitaxel and rearrangements". Bioorg. Med. Chem. 8 (6): 1269–80. doi:10.1016/S0968-0896(00)00056-0. PMID 10896107.
- Shi, QW; Si, XT; Zhao, YM; Yamada, T; Kiyota, H (March 2006). "Two new alkaloidal taxoids from the needles of Taxus canadensis". Biosci. Biotechnol. Biochem. 70 (3): 732–6. doi:10.1271/bbb.70.732. PMID 16556995. S2CID 24161551.
External links
Media related to Taxus canadensis at Wikimedia Commons