General poisoning notes:

Canada yew (Taxus canadensis) is a native shrub that grows in the moist rich woodlands of eastern Canada. It has also been planted in various parts of the country as an ornamental. In one case in British Columbia, several cattle became ill and some died after ingesting the leaves and twigs of a Canada yew that had been planted for ornamental purposes (Bruce 1927).

References:

Bruce, E. A. 1927. Astragalus campestris and other stock poisoning plants of British Columbia. Agric. Can. Publ., 88. 44 pp.

Thomson, G. W., Barker, I. K. 1978. Japanese yew (Taxus cuspidata) poisoning in cattle. Can. Vet. J., 19: 320-321.

Nomenclature:

Scientific Name: Taxus canadensis Marsh.

References:

Agriculture Quebec. 1975. Noms des maladies des plantes du Canada/ Names of plant diseases in Canada. , Quebec City, Que., Canada. 288 pp.

Alex, J. F., Cayouette, R., Mulligan, G. A. 1980. Common and botanical names of weeds in Canada/Noms populaire et scientifiques des plantes nuisibles du Canada. Revised. Agric. Can. Publ., Ottawa, Ont., Canada. 132 pp.

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Scoggan, H. J. 1978, 1979. The flora of Canada. Nat. Mus. Nat. Sci. (Ottawa) Publ. Bot. 7(1)-7(4). 1711 pp.

Van Wijk, H. L. 1911. A dictionary of plant names. Martinus Nijhoff, The Hague, The Netherlands. 1444 pp.

Victorin, M. 1964. Flore Laurentienne. 2nd ed. Univ. Montreal, Montreal, Que., Canada. 952 pp.

Geographic Information

British Columbia
Manitoba
New Brunswick
Nova Scotia
Ontario
Prince Edward Island
Quebec

References:

Bailey, L. H., Bailey, E. Z. 1976. Hortus third. Revised. MacMillan, New York, N.Y., USA. 1290 pp.

Boivin, B. 1966, 1967. Énumération des plantes du Canada. Provencheria 6. Nat. Can. (Que.) 93: 253-274; 371-437; 583-646; 989-1063. 94: 131-157; 471-528; 625-655.

Notes on Poisonous plant parts:

Leaves, twigs, and seeds are poisonous. Only the red arils, the fleshy outer parts of the fruits, are considered nontoxic (Bruce 1927; Lampe and McCann 1985).

Toxic parts:

leaves
seeds
twigs

References:

Bruce, E. A. 1927. Astragalus campestris and other stock poisoning plants of British Columbia. Agric. Can. Publ., 88. 44 pp.

Lampe, K. F., McCann, M. A. 1985. AMA Handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. American Medical Assoc. Chicago, Ill., USA. 432 pp.

Notes on Toxic plant chemicals:

Taxine (taxin), is a complex mixture of alkloids that is rapidly absorbed from the digestive tract and interferes with heart action (Lampe and McCann 1985, Feldman et al. 1987).

Toxic plant chemicals:

taxine

References:

Feldman, R., Szajewski, J. M., Chrobak, J., Liberek, Z. M. 1987. Four cases of self-poisoning with yew leaves decoction. Vet. Hum. Toxicol., 29: 72.

Lampe, K. F., McCann, M. A. 1985. AMA Handbook of poisonous and injurious plants. American Medical Assoc. Chicago, Ill., USA. 432 pp.

Animals/Human Poisoning:

Note: When an animal is listed without additional information, the literature (as of 1993) contained no detailed explanation.

Cattle

General symptoms of poisoning:

death
lungs, congestion of

Notes on poisoning:

Leaves, twigs, and seeds are poisonous. Only the red arils, the fleshy outer parts of the fruits, are considered nontoxic (Bruce 1927; Lampe and McCann 1985).

References:

Bruce, E. A. 1927. Astragalus campestris and other stock poisoning plants of British Columbia. Agric. Can. Publ., 88. 44 pp.

Information Source: ©Canadian Poisonous Plants Information System, Canadian Biodiversity Information Facility.