yew sapwood / heartwood separation while curing

[Dakota Kid]

I assume a bird may have carried the seed of an ornamental, but wild is more likely as yew seeds are highly toxic. From what I've heard, people who eat them by mistake said they tasted good, and then they died.   

[PatM]

 The Yew berry is not toxic. The seed may be but not to all birds.  Likely the seeds are only toxic if broken open, much like Apple seeds.
 It's kind of surprising that planted yew doesn't seem to spread unless that's maybe what you actually have.
 We have a lot of actual regular Yew trees here that aren't  modified ornamentals but  I haven't seen one in a wild scenario.

[Dakota Kid]

I didn't harvest all of them in hopes to return for more next year. I'll snap a few picks when we start prepping the property for the upcoming season. The ones I cut grew very differently from the low lying ones near by. I suppose yew are easily shaped. I would stand to reason that if a young tree were crushed by a falling limb it may opt to start growing out rather than up.

[Dakota Kid]

I was referring to the nut itself when I mentioned the seed. I was surprised when I learned about the flesh surrounding the nut being non-toxic, from what I understand it's the only part that is safe.

[mikekeswick]

Yew berries make glorious tea. Beautiful taste but don't get any seeds in it