The cut surface of the trunk of a newly felled European yew tree, Taxus baccata. The picture shows the heartwood (red hues) and to right, detaching la
The cut surface of the trunk of a newly felled European yew tree, Taxus baccata. The picture shows the heartwood (red hues) and to right, detaching layers of bark. The sapwood is a thin layer between the bark and the heartwood, and is not distinct here. The heartwood shows annual growth rings. A characteristic growth pattern of yew is the development with age of bulges along the trunk; these correspond to the waviness of the growth rings top right. The vivid red colour is caused by the presence of naphthoquinones, and is particularly striking on freshly cut timber; it fades with storage to an orange/brown parts of the tree are poisonous except the red aril that surrounds the seeds. T. baccata leaves are the source of 10-deacetylbaccatin, a precursor of the anticancer agent paclitaxel (\Taxol\"). Paclitaxel stabilises microtubules within cells; this stops cell division (mitosis)"
Size: 5212px × 3468px
Photo credit: © DR JEREMY BURGESS/SCIENCE PHOTO LIBRARY / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 10-deacetylbaccatin, annual, anticancer, aril, baccata, cell, division, europe, european, growth, heartwood, hue, microtubule, mitosis, napthoquinone, paclitaxel, plant, poisonous, ring, taxol, taxus, timber, yew
