Taxus × media

Taxus × media, sometimes known simply as Taxus media, is a conifer (more specifically, a yew) created by the hybridization of English yew Taxus baccata and Japanese yew Taxus cuspidata. This hybridization is thought to have been performed by the Massachusetts-based horticulturalist T.D. Hatfield in the early 1900s. ''

Taxonomy and common naming
Taxus × media is available in a large number of shrubby, often wide-spreading, cultivars under a variety of names.

Description
Like most yew species, T. × media prefers well-drained and well-watered soils, but has some degree of drought tolerance and in fact may die in conditions of excessive precipitation if the soil beneath the plant is not sufficiently well-drained.

Taxus × media is among the smallest extant species in the genus Taxus and (depending upon cultivar) may not even grow to the size of what one would consider a typical tree. Immature shrubs are very small and achieve (over the time span of ten to twenty years) heights of at most 20 ft and diameters of at most 8 ft, depending on the cultivar. Furthermore, T. × media is known to grow rather slowly and is not injured by frequent pruning, making this hybrid very desirable as a hedge in low-maintenance landscaping and also a good candidate for bonsai.

Toxicity
Taxus × media also shares with its fellow yew trees a high level of taxine in its branches, needles, and seeds. Taxine is toxic to the mammalian heart.

Varieties (cultivars)

 * Taxus × media var. hicksii (also known by the common name Hicks's yew or alternately, Hicks yew) is a common cultivar of this hybrid, and is the tallest and thinnest variety of T. × media, limiting itself to a 4 ft diameter, despite the fact it can achieve a height of close to 20 ft.
 * Another commonly-planted cultivar of T. × media is the broader-spreading densiformis version, which can reach a diameter exceeding 10 feet; nonetheless, this cultivar does not grow much past 5 ft in height.
 * Another cultivar of T. × media is the Kelseyi version (known as the Kelsey yew), with a height of 15 ft at maturity, and a spread of 10 ft. It is a dense multi-stemmed evergreen shrub with a low canopy about 1 foot from the ground.