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Yews - botanically known as Taxus baccata - are extremely easy to care for. At the right location, a regular cut is sufficient for the plant. Fertilizing and watering are only required in very few cases. The yews are suitable as solitary plants and as opaque hedges and can reach heights of up to 20 meters. But is it safe or is the yew poisonous? All information for humans and animals can be found here.
toxicity
Toxic or not?
All parts of the Taxus baccata are highly poisonous. Excluding the pulp that envelops the seeds. The toxic effect of the contained toxins can lead to death in both humans and animals. After ingesting the seeds, bark or needles, people can go into cardiac arrest within an hour and a half.
On the one hand, this is due to an alkaloid mixture called taxin. This occurs in the plant parts of the yew trees in different concentrations depending on the season. In autumn and winter the content of it is highest. In addition, cyanogenic glycosides are present in the plant parts. These are widespread plant toxins and lead to hydrocyanic acid intoxication.
Taxus baccata, Yew
critical dose
The toxic or critical dose of yew needles, seeds or bark for humans and animals cannot be precisely determined. Responsible for this is on the one hand the fluctuating content of toxic ingredients over the year. On the other hand, body weight and species determine how quickly and how strongly the toxins act.
However, some guidelines can still be found:
- Tortoises are very sensitive, a few yew needles can be deadly
- in dogs there is an undifferentiated statement of 30 grams of yew needles
- for cattle, sheep and goats, ten grams of needles per kilogram of body weight are said to be fatal
- Horses can die within five minutes after ingesting 100 to 200 grams of the poisonous parts of the plant
- in humans, a lethal dose is assumed to be 50 to 100 grams of the needles
It should be noted that these are only rough guide values. The information on the critical dose for dogs alone makes it clear that a Chihuahua weighing two kilograms and a mastiff weighing 90 kilograms will hardly react in an absolutely comparable way to the same dose. There are also age, physical constitution and any existing pre-existing conditions.
In addition, if parts of the yew hedge are accidentally ingested, it is only in the rarest of cases that it can be determined what quantities of needles, greenery, seeds and toxins actually contained have actually entered the body.
For people and animals
As mentioned, all plant parts of the yew hedge are poisonous to humans and animals. So far it is clear that the toxins in the plants have a toxic effect on the following animal species.
- mammals
- birds
- reptiles
Taxus baccata appears to be highly toxic and quickly fatal, especially in horses. A possible reason for this impression is, however, that clippings from the yew tree were disposed of unnoticed on the pasture and it is therefore unclear when exactly the needles were picked up. This is precisely where there is a problem and a greater risk for animals to be poisoned by the yew tree. Since they could consider the green, the bark and also the berries as food, the toxins are absorbed more quickly. This is especially true for herbivores. Cats and dogs aren't safe either.
Horses in the paddock
If they chew on the needles or twigs or bite into them while playing, they can absorb the toxins without eating large amounts of plant parts.
symptoms of poisoning
Signs of yew poisoning in humans include those listed below.
- nausea and vomiting
- diarrhea
- dizziness
- stomach pain
- dilation of the pupils
- Acceleration of pulse and breathing up to tachycardia, later weakening
- Red discoloration of the lips
- unconsciousness
- cramps
- falling body temperature
For animals
In animals, the symptoms can be as follows:
- profuse salivation, foam at the mouth
- diarrhea or constipation
- Bladder infection with frequent urination
- severe inflammation of the stomach and intestines
- Disorientation, dizziness and staggering
- circulatory collapse
- accelerated breathing, later breathing difficulties up to standstill
- Palpitations followed by a weak, slow pulse
First aid
Even if there is only a suspicion that parts of the yew tree have been picked up, an emergency doctor should be called immediately or a veterinarian or an animal clinic should be informed. Since the parts of the yew or yew hedge are highly poisonous and quickly fatal, immediate action is essential.
Medicinal charcoal can be given as a first aid measure. This absorbs at least part of the toxins. Even then, however, the poisoning must be considered an extreme emergency.
Yew hedge, yew, taxus
prevention
One of the simplest ways to prevent yew poisoning is to avoid planting it on your property. That way, at least the garden is safe. If you already have Taxus baccata plants in your own greenery, the following preventive measures can reduce the risk of poisoning.
- Do not leave clippings from the yew hedge lying around and do not add them to the compost
- In the case of yew trees at the property boundary, point out the toxicity if necessary
- remove flowers and/or fruit if possible and dispose of safely
- Do not let animals roam near yew trees, protect enclosures and pastures from falling needles
- Point out the toxicity of the plants to children
- keep medicinal charcoal ready in the medicine cabinet
- remove fallen needles, twigs and fruit
Sources:
- https://www.botanikus.de/Botanik3/Ordnung/Eibe/eibe.html
- http://www.botanik.univie.ac.at/hbv/download/ib_taxus_baccata.pdf
- http://www.gifte.de/giftpflanzen/taxus_baccata.htm
- https://www.pektrum.de/lexikon/ernaehrung/cyanogene-glycoside/1854