Taxus × media

Taxus × media, also referred to as the hybrid yew, intermediate yew, Anglo-Japanese yew, or Anglojap yew, is a hybrid species of yew created as the offspring of English yew Taxus baccata and Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata. This hybridization is thought to have been first performed by the Massachusetts-based horticulturalist T.D. Hatfield in the early 1900s.
Taxus × media is grown in a large number of shrubby, often wide-spreading, cultivars under a variety of names.

Description

Taxus ×'' media is among the smallest extant species in the genus Taxus and may not even grow to the size of what one would consider a typical tree. Immature shrubs are very small and achieve heights of at most and diameters of at most, depending on the cultivar. Furthermore, T. × media is known to grow rather slowly and is not injured by frequent pruning, making this hybrid very desirable as a hedge in low-maintenance landscaping and also a good candidate for bonsai.
Like most yew species, T. × media'' can thrive in many soil types and is tolerant to temporary fluctuations in moisture, but is highly prone to developing root rot in wet, poorly-drained conditions.

Toxicity

Like all yews, Taxus ×'' media'' contains a high level of taxines in its branches, needles, and seeds. Taxines are toxic to the mammalian heart.

Cultivars

Variety	Alternate names	Image	Sex	Habit Characteristics	Developed/ Selected by	Notes
Beanpole	"Bean pole"		Female	Tall, columnar. May reach up to 10 ft in height.	Vermeulen Nursery
Brownii	"Brown's yew"		Male	Broad, globular. May grow up to 10 ft high and 12 ft in diameter.	T.D. Hatfield	Named after R.T. Brown, a friend of Hatfield's.
Densiformis	"Dense yew" "Dense Spreading Yew"		Female	Short, wide spreading. This cultivar can reach a diameter exceeding 10 ft ; nonetheless, it does not grow much past in height.
Hatfieldii	"Hatfield yew"		Male	Tall, pyramidal. May reach up to 15 ft high and 10 ft in diameter.	T.D. Hatfield	Named after T.D. Hatfield by Alfred Rehder.
Hicksii	"Hick's yew" "Hicks yew" "Costich"*		Both*	Tall, columnar. May reach a height close to 20 ft.	Henry Hicks at Hicks Nurseries	One of the most widely grown T. × media cultivars. *What is often referred to as 'Hicksii' by nurseries was first categorized as two separate cultivars by horticulturalist L.C. Chadwick: 'Hicksii', a female cultivar, and 'Costich', a similar male cultivar. Despite this, Hicks Nurseries sold both under the name 'Hicksii".
Kelseyi	"Kelsey yew" "Berrybush yew"		Female	Tall, broad. May reach up to in height, and in diameter.	John Vermeulen	Named in honor of Frederick Wallace Kelsey, a nurseryman and brother of Francis Kelsey.
Tauntonii	"Taunton's yew" "Taunton yew"			Short, wide spreading. May reach up to tall and in diameter.
Wardii	"Ward's yew"		Female	Grows short and wide. May reach up to 6 ft tall and 20 ft in diameter.		Named after Charles Willis Ward.