WOW! Just discovered a new (for me) species of Taxus... a Yew from Mexico.
Schlectendahl 1838
Common names
Mexican yew; Ciprecillo colorado, Pinabete colorado [Spanish].
Taxonomic notes
Syn: T. baccata subsp. globosa Pilger 1916 (Hartzell 1991).
Description
Trees to 15 m tall and 80 cm DBH, with spreading or ascending branches forming a rounded or irregular crown. Bark reddish turning purple-brown and exfoliating in scales. Twigs slender, angular to round, yellowish to orange turning brown, with bud scales persistent at the base of each year's growth. Leaves in 2 ranks, spreading at 50°-80° from the shoot, mostly linear, slightly curved, 20-30 × 2-2.5mm, concave or with revolute margins, mucronate to cuspidate, leathery, shiny green above and pale green due to two stomatal bands below, with a raised upper midrib from base to mid-leaf, and raised to the tip on the lower side; papillae present on lower midrib (diagnostic characters). Pollen cones axillary, solitary, in rows on either side of fertile shoots, ovoid, 3-4 mm diameter, with 8-12 microsporophylls; cream to pale yellow. Seed cones axillary, solitary on underside of twigs, aril at first green and covering lower half of seed, later orange or red, swollen to cover the seed, globose, 9-12 mm diameter with seed ovoid, slightly flattened, 6-7 × 5-6 mm (Farjon 2010).
The half-length upper midrib is a character distinctive to the New World yews, and the papillae along the lower midrib is a character unique to this species.
