Yew Tree Toxins

[Tursiops]

Re: pre-Christian Yew traditions. Haven't had time to read it, but a quick Google came up with this:
http://www.whitedragon.org.uk/articles/yew.htm
T

[DBMiddlesex]

Originally Posted by wildone

I have an aquantance who regularly eats the red arils from yews. I have tried them myself but they are too sweet and gelatenous for my taste. All that was said to me was "make sure you spit out as many seeds as you put berries into your mouth". It was some three years ago when I tried them and I am still here to tell the tale.

FIRST POST!!!!
The story I have heard about "Yew and Churchyards" that pilgrims, 100's of years ago would travel from church to church. To keep their energy levels up,
they would suck on yew berries (the seeds would be pushed to one side in the cheek) when they reached the destination, ie. the Churchyard, they would spit them out. Plauseble!!
I too have sucked on the flesh of yew berries, about 20 years ago during one of those Govenment YTS Schemes of the 80's (horticultuaraly based) found it a bit like rosehip syrup/jam. I have said enough, the political correctness police are on their way!!!!!!!

[Helen]

Hi DB and welcome to the forum, look forward to reading more of your contrinbutions.

Regards

[Jonny]

This was discussed on a bushcraft forum I belong to and the outcome was as most have said above, the whole of the yew tree is poisonous except the outer (fruit) of the berry. The inner (seed) is poisonous, so if you eat the berrys, only eat the outer and take great care that you do not crunch the seed. Here is the link if your interested............
http://www.bushcraftuk.com/community...4&page=1&pp=10
As for the birds, I should imagine that the seed passes straight through them, causing them no harm..................Jon

[Surrey Snow]

I am very partial to Yew berries, they taste superb!

Just make sure you spit the seed out!

I have often eaten the berries and to no ill effect.

SS

[medieval knievel]

regarding yews and churchyards, i've read that here in ireland, yews became associated with rebirth, due to their ability to bounce back from the hardest pruning. they were then co-opted by the early church for graveyards, as a symbol of rebirth and resurrection.

[paulchandler6]

According to several sources. Yew Trees were revered by the Ancient Celts and areas that had Yew was regarded as sacred ground. Apparently early Christians built the churches close to the Yews in order to try and attract the so called "heathens" to convert to christianity. This could also explain why most churchyards today have Yew trees in their grounds. The Celts used the aril to make Jam and flavour wine etc. and yes the rest of the tree is very toxic. (hope this is not too "off topic"). Cheers

[svenrufus]

Originally Posted by paulchandler6

The Celts used the aril to make Jam and flavour wine etc. and yes the rest of the tree is very toxic.

This is something I have been thinking about doing for some time, but could never be bothered as the amount of flesh that you would get from it is so negligible, that it would take too long to gather enough to justify the effort. I have been thinking about this since I first tried the fruit about 12-15 years ago.

Eating yew berries is one of the highlights of the year for me, they are delicious. It is simple to keep from eating the seed, I must have eaten hundreds or even thousands of berries and never even had a close call with regard to swallowing them. Having said that I am wary of advising people to go for it, as the seed is so toxic. It is my choice to eat them, and I'm happy to make you aware that you can do it too, but if you do, it is your responsibility to make sure you do it safely.

As someone else said, the seeds pass straight through birds with no ill effects.

[bushcraft4]

Hi all.The berry flesh of the yew are to my taste very nice.Although!! i always squash out the seed before eating.to swallow the seed "as birds do ,they would pass straight through you not causing harm. A different story if you were to crush the seed before ingesting.the toxins have a paralyzing effect on the heart.enough to put many peop[le off. Eating wild foods cannot be a willy-nilly buisiness but requires 100% possitive id`s .this should not put off people but encourage them to research. "everything is edible once .reaserch allows you to try it a second time.

[Gytrash]

I've also read that when sanding the wood, you should wear a mask, as the dust is poisonous if breathed in.


One other thing I was wondering about last year... I was working in a garden containing lots of mature Yew trees. It was that time of the year when they release their pollen and every time I brushed past one I was enveloped in a yellow cloud.
If every part of the Yew is poisonous (apart from the berry flesh), does this mean I'm breathing in poisonous pollen?!


I also recall reading (on a heathen/pagan list) that there are records of people in older times sitting under Yew trees and having 'visions'. Maybe that was the pollen...?
Just a thought...