Taxus baccata YEW
8 Yew fresh seeds.

Taxus baccata is a conifer native to western, central and southern Europe, northwest Africa, northern Iran and southwest Asia.
It is the tree originally known as yew, though with other related trees becoming known, it may be now known as the English yew, or European yew.

Most parts of the tree are toxic, except the bright red aril surrounding the seed, enabling ingestion and dispersal by birds.
The major toxin is the alkaloid taxane. The foliage remains toxic even when wilted or dried.

Horses have the lowest tolerance, with a lethal dose of 200–400 mg/kg body weight, but cattle, pigs, and other livestock are only slightly less vulnerable. Symptoms include staggering gait, muscle tremors, convulsions, collapse, difficulty breathing, coldness and eventually heart failure.

Fatal poisoning in humans is very rare, only occurring after eating a lot of yew foliage. The lethal dose is reported to be between 50 and 100 grams. The wood is also poisonous. Some bow makers are reputed to have died from the frequent handling of the wood in their craft.

do not eat this plant! Very dangerous!