Taxus

…An evergreen conifer of the Taxaceae family that grows naturally in mountain forests in cold regions and is also seen in gardens (illustration). It is also called Araragi or Onko (Tohoku and Hokkaido). It is a densely branched tree that can grow up to 20m tall. The leaves are spiral, but on the lateral branches they form two rows, are linear, 1.5-3cm long, and have sharp tips that are not painful. It is dioecious, blooming from March to May. The male flowers are axillary and have 9-15 stamens, each consisting of 4-8 pelt-shaped anther chambers. The female flowers grow singly on short lateral branches, and in autumn they turn into black-brown, egg-shaped, spherical seeds, the lower half of which is covered by a red fleshy aril. …

*Some of the terminology explanations that mention "Taxus" are listed below.

Source | Heibonsha World Encyclopedia 2nd Edition | Information

…寒地の山林に自生し庭園にも見られるイチイ科の常緑針葉樹（イラスト）。アララギまたはオンコ(東北･北海道)ともいう。高さ20mにもなる高木で密に分枝する。葉は螺生（らせい）するが，横枝では2列状となり，線形で長さ1.5～3cm，先端はとがるが痛くない。雌雄異株で，3～5月に開花し，雄花は腋生（えきせい）して，4～8個の楯形葯室からなるおしべ9～15本をもつ。雌花は短い側枝に単生し，秋に黒褐色卵状球形の種子となり，その下半部は赤色肉質の仮種皮に包まれる。…

※「Taxus」について言及している用語解説の一部を掲載しています。

出典｜株式会社平凡社世界大百科事典 第２版について | 情報