Yew spoons - poisonous?

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Tiley

Life Member
Oct 19, 2006
2,364
374
60
Gloucestershire
Title says it all really. I am working on a spoon made from our old friend Taxus baccata and was wondering whether I'd be able to shove food into my mouth using it. I know that there are bits and bobs of the tree that are poisonous (berries, etc.) but has anyone got any experience of the wood when used as an eating implement rather than a bow?

Any help or advice very gratefully received!
 

Dougster

Bushcrafter through and through
Oct 13, 2005
5,254
238
The banks of the Deveron.
what about for knife handles?

Gorgeous

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nickg

Settler
May 4, 2005
890
5
69
Chatham
Hi

The berries are NOT poisonous - the pips are! last year at Hampton Court the yew trees were groaning with berries and I ate a shedful. You need to be careful to spit out the nut in the centre, which seperates easily from the fruit in the mouth, and be careful not to bite down on it hard enough to crack it, but the flesh is as sweet as jam and they fall off the twig when perfectly ripe.
Its the nut and the leaves which are dangerous the wood, especially the heartwood, holds very little toxin. I bet you are hanlding it without gloves with no ill effects. and I and my mates have been handling yew longbows for years and then eating our sarnies or whatever with no ill effects.
My suggestion is try it and see - whatever is residual in the wood will be in very low concentration and will at worst give you and upset stomach if anything at all. wash it well, dry it, then seal it with tung oil or a similar residual and it will probably be fine.
I have never seen any papers concerning the toxicity of the tree wood - only the leaves (pins) and nuts.
Has anybody got any qualified documentation to the contrary ( I've heard the scare stories - - all apocryphal) but I've seen no really hard info.
This is of course just my own opinion.

Cheers
Nick
 
Last edited:

wattsy

Native
Dec 10, 2009
1,111
3
Lincoln
its poisonous through and through mate not worth the risk.
incidentally the fruit isn't a berry its an aril because it doesn't completely enclose the seed.
splitting hairs i know lol
 

nickg

Settler
May 4, 2005
890
5
69
Chatham
From a quick trawl of the web

How poisonous is the yew?
Poison is found in all parts except for the fleshy fruit.
The poison is called Taxine. “The alkaloid ephedrine, as well as a volatile oil and traces of a cyanogenic glycoside, taxiphyllin, are also present.” HMSO 1984
The leaves are more toxic than the seed.
(Paul Greenwood 2005)

Effect on animals
There is contradictory evidence about the effect on animals of eating yew foliage. There are many recorded instances of animals known to have died from grazing on yew leaves. There are also reports of animals eating leaves without suffering any ill effects. It is not unknown for small quantities of leaves to be added to supplement winter fodder for cattle.
Poisonous plants in Britain and their effects on animals and man published by the HMSO in 1984 is however unambiguous in its advice: “……..yew should never be fed to animals…….”
(Copyright © Tim Hills 2005)

Effect on humans
Fifty to one hundred grams of chopped leaves is considered fatal to adults.
A world-wide investigation in 1998 (Krenzelok et al.) shows 11,197 records of yew poisoning (from all Taxus species) in humans (96.4% in children less than 12 years old) and found no deaths. A 1992 article in Forensic Science International (Van Ingen et al.) stated that only 10 authenticated cases of fatal human poisoning by T. baccata had been recorded in the previous 31 years, and that they were all deliberate.
Krenzelok, E.P., Jacobsen, T.D. & Aronis, J. (1998) "Is the yew really poisonous to you?", Journal of Toxicology Clinical Toxicology, 36, 219-223.
Van Ingen, G., Visser, R., Peltenburg, H., Van Der Ark, A.M. & Voortman, M. (1992) "Sudden unexpected death due to Taxus poisoning. A report of five cases, with review of the literature". Forensic Science International, 56, 81-87.
(Copyright © Fred Hageneder 2005)

I observed a craftsman turning wooden spindles at a lathe. When working with yew he put on a mask with a respirator and made sure the extractor fan was working properly. He explained that yew dust should not be inhaled and that anyone working with yew wood should be aware of health and safety implications.

(Paul Greenwood 2005)

Cheers
Nick
 

robin wood

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Oct 29, 2007
3,054
1
derbyshire
www.robin-wood.co.uk
Hi
I have never seen any papers concerning the toxicity of the tree wood - only the leaves (pins) and nuts.
Has anybody got any qualified documentation to the contrary ( I've heard the scare stories - - all apocryphal) but I've seen no really hard info.
This is of course just my own opinion.

This is a reasonable question and I don't have papers to hand. I did look into laburnum asked Kew and they gave me a 3 page response which effectively said flowers and seeds lots of toxin, bark and leaves a little but the wood was not included in the standard texts on woods injurious to man, but it did not give test results showing lack of toxin either.

There are so many reasonably serious looking quotes giving yew as containing taxin in all parts other than the berry that I do not doubt it. This is typical. http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/atoz/taxus_baccata.htm

A German woodworker friend told me last year of a new research paper which had looked at taxin levels in the wood and had found that it varied considerably, not only between trees but between different parts of the same tree with no obvious reason. Some concentrations were comparatively low and others were very considerable, ie enough to worry eating from a spoon. Second hand hearsay evidence admittedly, I don't have the paper.

Personally I don't see it is being worth the risk, there are plenty of other nice woods out there and plenty of other good things to do with your yew.
 

Laurentius

Bushcrafter (boy, I've got a lot to say!)
Aug 13, 2009
2,422
614
Knowhere
I wonder whether the risk of these things is not extremely exaggerated, I am not going to go into the curious history of Rasputin, but Cyanide is present in amongst other things the elderberry, but it makes an excellent wine.
 

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