20. Yew

Yew is a slow-growing tree. It is the tree of the cemeteries (for the Celts, it was sacred, providing a link between the living and the dead).

Yew contains an alkaloid that is toxic to humans and most domestic animals. Horse owners used to pull them up to prevent the death of their horses, which were so fond of them. The only edible part of the fruit, the aril, is the red husk surrounding the seed, which, like the rest of the tree, is poisonous.

Its wood is flexible and rot-proof. It was used to make bows and crossbows. The Welsh and then the English made longbows from it, weapons that proved decisive in the battles of Crécy 1346 and Azincourt 1415. On both occasions, the English archers defeated the French cavalry despite their numerical inferiority.