Plants of the Taxus Genus are all evergreen arbors or shrubs, which are dioecious and have cross-pollination. The strobili are small, borne inside the axillae, and blossoms early spring. The male cone is composed of petiolate capitula with squamae on the base. It bears 6 to 14 scutellate stamens, each of which has 4 to 9 anthers. The female cone bears an acrogenous ovule, held by discal collar at the base and with several bracts on the bottom. The seeds of pyreniform are globular, borne inside the red fleshy cotyloid arils and ripen within the same year.  

It's one of the typical shade species. It usually exists sparsely in the second and third layers of arbors below the forest canopy. There seldom exist pure forests or block distribution of its kind. It only grows best in well-drained acidic grey brown earth, yellow earth and yellow brown earth. Its seedling prefers shade, so it should not be exposed in strong sunlight. The thick-coated seed in deep dormancy needs 2.5 years (after 2 winters and a summer) to germinate, so its ability of natural regeneration is poor. The Yew Mellow and its derivants abstracted from the yew are among the best anticancer drugs in the world and of very high value for exploitation and utilization.

There are 11 species of plants within the Yew Genus all over the world, distributed from the temperate zone to tropical zone of the Northern Hemisphere. There are 4 species and 1 variation in China, including Japanese yew, Yunnan yew, Tibetan yew, Chinese yew and Maire yew.

 Chinese Yew

It is also known as Kwan-yin China fir, with the Latin name of Taxus chinensis. It can grow up to 30 meters high, with a trunk diameter of 1 meter. It bears reddish-brown bark cracking into strips. The seed takes the shape of flat ovoid or obovate and is coated with red cotyloid aril. It grows in places where it's warm and rainy.

It's an endemic species of China, distributed widely in the south of Gansu Province, south of Shaanxi Province, west of Hubei Province, and Sichuan Province. In Central China, it's mostly found in undisturbed environment of mountainous lands 1,000 meters or higher above sea level. In South and Southwest China, it's mostly found in deciduous broad-leaved forests on mountainous lands 1,500 to 3,000 meters above sea level. It's more intensively distributed in Hengduan Mountain area and on ambient mountainous lands of Sichuan Basin. The timber is rot-proof, so it can be used as working timber in civil engineering in addition to landscaping. The seed's oil percentage is 60%.

 Maire Yew

It is also known as Beauty Yew, with the Latin name of Taxus chinensis var.mairei. It is one of the widest spreading plants of the Yew Genus in China. Its branches hang down flexibly, and the bark is red brown and the leaves are long and narrow. Junoesque and elegant, it's also known as Beauty Yew, as a graceful evergreen ornamental fruit tree.

It's mainly distributed in the Yangtze River valley, on mountainous areas of NanLing Mountain Ranges, and on mountainous lands or in valleys in Henan, Shaanxi, Gansu and Taiwan provinces. Its reserves are larger than other species in the yew family. The stiffness and rotproofness make it a fine timber for construction. Being an exquisite timber with mauve heartwood inside, it's also a special timber for top quality furniture and artworks. There are often Maire yews with a relatively older age found in some villages on Wuyi mountain area, which can attain the height up to 10-odd meters, with a large diameter that can only be hugged by several people at a time.

 Japanese Yew

It is also called Pacific yew Tree, with the Latin name of Taxus cuspidate. It's an evergreen arbor that can attain the height up to 20 meters, with a chest diameter of 1 meter, and a wide ovoid or obovoid crown. The crown of the male plant is narrow while that of the female plant is expanding. It's native to the forest of Changbai Mountain area, east of Liaoning Province and Jilin Province. It's a kind of shade species and grows slowly. It's freezing-resistant, shallow-rooted with developed branch root, and grows better in moist and organic-abundant soil, especially with higher air humidity. Being stiff, beautiful, aromatic, and rot-proof, it's a fine construction timber that doesn't crack.

 Yunnan Yew

It's an evergreen arbor and dioecious, with the Latin name of Taxus yunnanensis. It can attain the height up to 20 meters. It's distributed in northwest of Yunnan Province, southeast of Tibetan Autonomous Region and southwest of Sichuan Province. It is mainly found in shaws 2,000-3,500 meters above sea level. Being a kind of fine timber, it can be used for construction, furniture and instruments. The Yew Mellow extracted from it has an anticancer effect.

 Tibetan Yew   

It is also known as Himalayan Yew, with the Latin name of Taxus WallichiannZuc. It is a peculiar Tibetan species of trees. It belongs to the evergreen small arbor and shrub, which bears branches expanding or spreading upward. It is mainly distributed in Jilong area and other places south of Tibetan Autonomous Region, and some regions of Yunnan Province adjacent to Tibetan Autonomous Region. It grows in Yunnan hemlock forest, Himalayan pine forest and Alpine oak forest 2,500-3,400 meters above sea level. Tibetan Yew has both less distribution areas and less resource reserves, but basically the resource has been well preserved.