Fruit of the yew
Introduction
The photograph on this page of Fruit of the yew by Jonathan Billinger as part of the Geograph project.
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Fruit of the yew
Image: © Jonathan Billinger Taken: 21 Oct 2008
Taxus baccata in St. John's churchyard. The seed cones are highly modified, each cone containing a single seed 4–7 millimetres (0.16–0.28 in) long partly surrounded by a modified scale which develops into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, 8–15 millimetres (0.31–0.59 in) long and wide and open at the end. The arils are mature 6-9 months after pollination, and with the seed contained are eaten by thrushes, waxwings and other birds, which disperse the hard seeds undamaged in their droppings; maturation of the arils is spread over 2-3 months, increasing the chances of successful seed dispersal. The seed itself is extremely poisonous and bitter. The aril is not poisonous, and is gelatinous and very sweet tasting. Ref Wiki.
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Image Location
Latitude
52.864044
Longitude
-1.838646