Barmi, Thuna
Taxus wallichiana

Family: Taxaceae

What it is like

A tree. It grows 6-18 m tall. The branches are spreading. The bark is reddish-brown and scaly. The leaves are narrow and almost in spirals. They are 2-4 cm long. The female flowers are green and occur singly in the axils of leaves. The seed are olive green and surrounded by a red fleshy aril.

There are about 6 Taxus species.

Where it is found

It is a temperate plant. In Northeastern India it grows between 2,400-3,200 m above sea level. Garhwal Himalayas. Arboretum Tasmania.

Countries/locations it is found in

Afghanistan, Asia, Australia, Himalayas, India, Indonesia, Myanmar, Nepal, Northeastern India, Pakistan, Philippines, SE Asia, Tasmania

How it is used for food

The leaves are boiled in water for tea. CAUTION: The seeds are poisonous and tea from the leaves is poisonous. The flowers are eaten raw. The fruit are eaten.

Edible parts

Leaves - tea, caution, flowers, fruit, bark - for flavouring tea

How it is grown

Its other names

Local names

Kyauk-tinyu, Lauth salla, Lawaita, Nemdal, Rakhal, Sangcha, Sipehu, Tae-sheng, Thoon, Thuna, Thune, Thuner

Synonyms

Taxus baccata subsp. wallichiana (Zucc.) Pilg.; Taxus baccata var. wallichiana (Zucc.) C. K. Schneid. ex Silva Tar.; Taxus chinensis var. yunnanensis (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) L. K. Fu; Taxus contorta Griff.; Taxus contorta var. mucronata Spjut; Taxus florinii Spjut; Taxus nucifera Wall. [Illegitimate]; Taxus orientalis Bertol.; Taxus phytonii Spjut; Taxus suffnesii Spjut; Taxus wallichiana subsp. contorta (Griff.) Silba; Taxus wallichiana var. wallichiana; Taxus wallichiana var. yunnanensis (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) C. T. Kuan; Taxus wallichiana subsp. yunnanensis (W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu) Silba; Taxus yunnanensis W. C. Cheng & L. K. Fu;