Plum-yew is an evergreen shrub from Japan that occasionally escapes to suburban woods. In its native land it can become a sprawling tree up to 30 feet high. In North Carolina it is usually a low shrub found in the understory of deciduous forests.

Battle Park, Chapel Hill, NC 4/10/10.

The leaves are similar to those of Taxus (yew) and Torreya. The cones (not pictured) are plum-like.

Also compare with China-fir (Cunninghamia lanceolata), a tree that rarely escapes from cultivation.

Chapel Hill, NC 4/10/10.

Chapel Hill, NC 4/10/10.