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Taxaceae FAMILY Least Concern

Cephalotaxus nana

Cephalotaxus nana

Edibility
3/5
Medicinal
0/5

Safety & Hazards

None known

Cultivation Details

HabitEvergreen Shrub
Growth—

Cephalotaxus nana is a very frost-resistant plant when dormant, succeeding as far north as southern Sweden and Nova Scotia[1]. Prefers a moist well-drained sandy soil but succeeds in most soils though it dislikes dry gravelly or chalky soils[2, 1]. Prefers a position in semi-shade but tolerates full shade[3, 4] and it also succeeds but does not usually thrive in full sun[1]. It grows very well in the mild wet coastal region of W. Scotland where it succeeds even in full sun[1]. Requires a humid sheltered site[1], strongly disliking very exposed positions[2]. The dwarf Japanese plum yew is a very slow growing plant[5] with an excellent potential as a food crop in Britain. The fruit and the seed are often eaten in Japan. In addition, the seeds seem to be immune to the predations of squirrels, the seed on trees growing at Kew Botanical gardens being untouched even though virtually every other nut tree there has its crop destroyed[PFAF]. This sub-species is a small spreading shrub to 2 metres, spreading by means of suckers[4, 1]. It is said to have the best fruit of this genus[1]. Plants are dioecious, but female plants sometimes produce fruits and infertile seeds in the absence of any male plants[3]. However, at least one male plant for every five females should be grown if you are growing the plants for fruit and seed. Plants have also been known to change sex[4]. Male cones are produced in the axils of the previous year's leaves, whilst female cones are borne at the base of branchlets[1].

Propagation

Seed - best sown as soon as it is ripe in a cold frame[6], it should then germinate in the following spring[PFAF]. A hard seedcoat can delay germination, especially in if the seed is not sown as soon as it is ripe[4, PFAF]. Stored seed should be cold-stratified and sown in a cold frame in the spring[1]. Germination can take 18 months or more. Prick out the seedlings as soon as they are large enough to handle and grow them on for at least their first winter under cover. Plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts. Greenwood cuttings of terminal shoots, mid summer to early autumn in a humid cold frame[2, 1]. Difficult[6]. Division of self-layered stems and suckers in early autumn or mid-spring. Cite as: Temperate Plants Database, Ken Fern. temperate.theferns.info. 2026-02-20. <temperate.theferns.info/plant/Cephalotaxus+nana>

Pollinators

Wind

References

  1. [1]The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. — Huxley. A. · MacMillan Press · 1992 · ISBN 0-333-47494-5 ↩︎Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.
  2. [2]RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 — F. Chittendon. · Oxford University Press · 1951 · ISBN - ↩︎Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaced in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [ 200 ]).
  3. [3]Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. — Bean. W. · Murray · 1981 · ISBN - ↩︎A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.
  4. [4]Conifers. — Rushforth. K. · Christopher Helm · 1987 · ISBN 0-7470-2801-X ↩︎Deals with conifers that can be grown outdoors in Britain. Good notes on cultivation and a few bits about plant uses.
  5. [5]Conifers in the British Isles. — Mitchell. A. F. · HMSO · 1975 · ISBN 0-11-710012-9 ↩︎A bit out of date (first published in 1972), but an excellent guide to how well the various species of conifers grow in Britain giving locations of trees.
  6. [6]The Reference Manual of Woody Plant Propagation. — Dirr. M. A. and Heuser. M. W. · Athens Ga. Varsity Press · 1987 · ISBN 0942375009 ↩︎A very detailed book on propagating trees. Not for the casual reader.
  7. [7]A taxonomic revision of the genus Cephalotaxus (Taxaceae) — Xue-Dong Lang; Jian-Rong Su; Shu-Gang Lu & Zhi-Jun Zhang · Magnolia Press · 2013 · http://dx.doi.org/10.11646/phytotaxa.84.1.1 · ISBN 1179-3163 ↩︎A review of the genus Cephalotaxus. It can be downloaded from the Internet
  8. [8]IUCN Red List of Threatened Species — http://www.iucnredlist.org/ ↩︎A list of plants under threat and facing possible extinction, usually with brief details of the threats and information on habitat.
  9. [9]Plantae Wilsonae. Vol 1 - 3 — Wilson. E. H. · University Press; Cambridge. · 1911 - 1917 · http://www.biodiversitylibrary.org ↩︎Details of the palnts collected by the plant collector E. H. Wilson on his travels in China. Gives some habitats. Not for the casual reader. It can be downloaded from the internet.
  10. [10]Flora of Japan — http://www.foj.info ↩︎An on-line version of the flora - an excellent resource.
  11. [11]Cornucopia - A Source Book of Edible Plants. — Facciola. S. · Kampong Publications · 1990 · ISBN 0-9628087-0-9 ↩︎Excellent. Contains a very wide range of conventional and unconventional food plants (including tropical) and where they can be obtained (mainly N. American nurseries but also research institutes and a lot of other nurseries from around the world.
  12. [12]Tanaka's Cyclopedia of Edible Plants of the World. — Tanaka. T. & Nakao S. · Keigaku Publishing; Tokyo · 1976 · ISBN - ↩︎The most comprehensive list of edible plants I've come across. Only the briefest entry for each species, though, and some of the entries are more than a little dubious. Not for the casual reader.
  13. [PFAF]Plants for a Future — pfaf.org ↩︎