Yews first appeared in the Triassic period, not long after the extinction of the dinosaurs, and many plants which emerged at the same time have long since disappeared. Looking at Taxus species 'distribution on a global scale, they have a typical relict distribution, like scattered patches of damp on ground drying after rain.
它在緊接著恐龍滅絕之後的第三紀出現，與它同時期的許多植物在今天都已消失，若把地球縮小來看，「孓遺植物」紅豆杉分佈零星，有點類似地表上幾片欲乾未乾的水漬。