Page 40 - BSAM 2016 Q4

Friends, Creativity
Top row; Drawing showing the potential for the design of this Taxus cuspidata, that features its magni cent deadwood.
Massimo being assisted by Antonio Jesús and observed by Gigi, co-owner of the tree.
Massimo estimates the age of this tree to be around 500 years.
Bottom left and right; Front and back views of the tree before styling work.
lthough many recognize nine species of yews, all yews are closely related to the generic Taxus AA
because of their medicinal value. e yew’s importance to humans is epic. Before the invention of gunpowder, its strength and hardness made the yew as valuable as steel when it came to making instruments for war, defense and hunting. Parishes in medieval England were required to grow yews, contained within fenced churchyards because of their toxic properties, to provide material for making long bows. Sti and strong, the yew is the time- honored wood for making bows. Its springy sapwood made the iconic English long bow a powerful weapon that guaranteed military supremacy in the middle ages. Even the Chalcolithic mummy, a well-preserved natural mummy of a man who lived around 3,300 BCE, found in 1991 in the Italian alps, carried an un nished bow
n Interview with Massimo Bandera, Italy, on
By Joe Grande, Canada
baccata. One of its distinctive features is that all parts of the yew, but the berries, are toxic to humans and animals. However, the seeds are as poisonous as the rest of the tree. e yew’s bark is used to create an e ective cancer- ghting drug which has led to the overharvesting of this unique organism that can live more than a thousand years. It is listed among 400 species of plants at risk of extinction
38 | BCI | October/November/December 2016