01About This Special Issue
Taxus baccata Linn, is a valuable plant for taxol or paclitaxel extraction used in the preparation of anti-cancer drugs (breast and ovarian cancer), kaposi’s sarcoma (an AIDS related cancer) and over 20 such other indications. It is a slow growing evergreen tree found in the temperate forests in altitude ranging between 1500 m to 3000 m. Around 2 to 3 million kg of biomass is harvested annually where as the sustainable rate of harvesting is estimated to be 0.6 million kg per year. The tree has spreading branchlets and leaves arranged in two whorls which are 2.5 to 3.5 cm long and linear. They are glossy green above and pale beneath which distinguishes the tree from Cephalotaxus and Tsuga which have leave undersurface white. Fruits are 0.7 to 1 cm long with succulent bright red disc that covers the blackish olive green seed. Taxus flowers during March to May and seeds are produced during October to November. The native areas of the plant are Algeria, Australia, Belgium, Bhutan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Canada, China, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, El Salvador, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Iran, Italy, Japan, Korea, Republic of, Lithuania, Mexico, Morocco, Nepal, Norway, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romani, Russian Federation, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Taiwan, Province of China, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America, Vietnam. The plant is threatened and enlisted in the negative lists of export Appendix II of CITES. Therefore, there is a great need of conservation and regeneration of the plant in these areas.02Meet the Guest Editors
Our distinguished editors bring deep subject-matter expertise to curate high-quality research and ensure a rigorous peer-review process.
Lead Guest Editor
Gibji Nimasow
Department of Geography, Rajiv Gandhi University, Itanagar, India
Guest Editor
Gülay Sezerer Kuru
MTA, mineral Research and Expolaration, TMA, Ankara, Turkey
03Published Articles
The following articles have been published in this special issue.
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Taxus globosa Schltdl. (Taxaceae). Distribution and Diagnosis of an Endangered Yew
Issue: Volume 4, Issue 3-1, May 2015Pages: 80-88Received: 20 March 2015Accepted: 21 March 2015Published: 28 April 2015DOI: 10.11648/j.earth.s.2015040301.13Downloads:Views:Abstract: After prospecting the vast majority of the populations and consulting herbarium collections and literature, data of distribution and demography of the Mexican populations of Taxus globosa is presented. Besides, the global distribution as the status of the species and its ecology is reviewed. Some populations are well preserved, however most of the ... Show More -
Issue: Volume 4, Issue 3-1, May 2015Pages: 11-18Received: 21 January 2015Accepted: 22 January 2015Published: 3 March 2015DOI: 10.11648/j.earth.s.2015040301.12Downloads:Views:Abstract: Taxus baccata, a small to medium sized tree is valuable for extraction of taxol which is used in preparation of anti-cancer drugs (breast and ovarian cancer), kaposi’s sarcoma (an AIDS related cancer) and over 20 such other indications. The plant is rare, endangered and listed in Appendix II of Convention on International Trade in Endangered Specie... Show More
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Issue: Volume 4, Issue 3-1, May 2015Pages: 1-10Received: 5 January 2015Accepted: 10 January 2015Published: 3 March 2015DOI: 10.11648/j.earth.s.2015040301.11Downloads:Views:Abstract: Taxus is a small to medium sized tree, with red ‘berries’ (seed covered by arils), valuable for taxol or paclitaxel extraction used in the preparation of anti-cancer drugs (breast cancer and ovarian cancer), kaposi’s sarcoma (an AIDS related cancer) and over 20 such other indications. It is an evergreen tree found in the temperate forests with an a... Show More
