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Yew Tree

betul.suleymanbetul.suleyman Posts: 1
in Problem solving
We have a male yew tree in our neighbour’s garden which at this time of year drops many male yew cone all over our garden.. they are very small! I understand the yew is highly toxic but there is no mention of the toxicity of the male flowers which have shed their pollen. Can anyone confirm if these fallen cones are toxic (I struggle to clear them all from the garden as they drop in hundreds a day)? Many thanks in advance. 

Posts

  • fidgetbonesfidgetbones Posts: 17,618
    As I understand it, all parts of yew are toxic.  As are foxgloves, monkshood, opium poppies and many other garden plants. Just don't eat them.   If you object to the yew overhanging you, have a word with the neighbour about pruning it back to the boundary. You would have to get permission to trim it if it has a TPO or you are in a conservation area.
  • StephenSouthwestStephenSouthwest Posts: 635
    My understanding, and I'm no expert, is that the flesh of the berry is edible, but the seed is poisonous...which makes for some high stakes jam!
  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    I understand that the only part of opium poppies that contain the opiates is the seed pod cover. My son-in-law backs up his belief by saving his opium poppy seeds and eating them. (There are commercial fields of the poppies near him.). My wife forbids me.
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
  • punkdocpunkdoc Posts: 15,039
    Of course it all depends on what you mean by poisonous. Without Opium we would not have strong painkillers.
    How can you lie there and think of England
    When you don't even know who's in the team

    S.Yorkshire/Derbyshire border
  • DovefromaboveDovefromabove Posts: 88,147
    And we should remember that yew will not poison us if we do not eat it. Protect small children of course … but do not be frightened of it. 😊 

    Gardening in Central Norfolk on improved gritty moraine over chalk ... free-draining.





  • bédébédé Posts: 3,095
    edited March 2023
    Most plants (perhaps all) generate some toxins to deter thier predators. They are usually proteins.

    In a continuous battlle, many creatures have fought back by evolving resistance to particular toxins.  What one species finds non-toxic may not be reflected in others.  Humans have largely evolved resistance to wheat protein poisoning, but a percentage still suffer from coeliac disiease. 
     location: Surrey Hills, England, ex-woodland acidic sand.
    "Have nothing in your garden that you don't know to be useful, or believe to be beautiful."
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