English Yew (Newport, Rhode Island)

 tree  Add category

 Upload a photo

Yews count among the longest living organisms on earth. The ancient Llangernyw Yew (Taxus baccata) is the oldest individual tree in Europe and second or third oldest individual tree in the world. It is believed to be between 4,000 years and 5,000 years.

The yew is often found in churchyards from the British Isles and France to Galicia. In France, the oldest yew trees are located in Norman churchyards and a chapel was very often laid out in the hollow trunk. It is said that up to 40 people could stand inside one of the La-Haye-de-Routot yew trees.

The yew is also associated with Wales and England because it is the wood of choice for longbow making. The heartwood of yew is on the inside of the bow while the sapwood is on the outside.

One of the world's oldest surviving wooden artifacts is a yew spearhead found in Essex, UK. It is estimated to be 450,000 years old.

www.everytrail.com/guide/gilded-age-north-tree-walk/map...