About the plant
Once widely distributed across Southeast Asia Taxus wallichiana has been overharvested for the pharmaceutical companies.
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Endangered
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
Banked in the MSBSeeds from this plant have been banked in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, at Wakehurst in Sussex
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MaterialPlant provides materials for manufacturing either fibre or timber
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MedicinePlant or components of this plant are used in medicine
Facts
- Strong and durable wood
- Slow-growing
- Powerful medicinal properties
- Red dye used for religious ceremonies
By Krzysztof Ziarnek via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0
Medicinal properties
In traditional medicine Himalayan yew is used to treat everything from fevers and coughs to epilepsy and tuberculosis.
It’s also valuable to the modern medicine trade as it contains chemical compounds used to make the anti-cancer drug paclitaxel. In some areas populations have decreased by up to 90% in major parts of its range.
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Endangered
The International Union for Conservation of Nature Red List of Threatened Species uses a set of criteria to evaluate the extinction risk of the world’s species. The ongoing mission is to evaluate every plant species in the world.
IUCN Red List Status:
Not yet evaluatedData deficientLeast concernNear threatenedVulnerableEndangeredCritically endangeredExtinct in the wildExtinct -
Banked in the MSBSeeds from this plant have been banked in Kew’s Millennium Seed Bank, at Wakehurst in Sussex
-
MaterialPlant provides materials for manufacturing either fibre or timber
-
MedicinePlant or components of this plant are used in medicine