Stats

Lifespan: Centuries
Size: Large
Diet: Photosynthetic
Activity: Diurnal
Social: Solitary
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: Northern Hemisphere
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxin
Status: Common

About

A genus of slow-growing, long-lived conifers with flat dark-green needles and reddish, flaking bark, widely planted as dense evergreen hedges and topiary. Instead of a cone the seed is cradled in a fleshy scarlet cup (aril) — the one non-toxic part; nearly everything else in the plant is dangerously poisonous.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Pinopsida
Order: Pinales
Family: Taxaceae
Genus: Taxus