紅豆杉屬常綠針葉大喬木，臺灣原生種，喜馬拉雅山東麓至中國東南亦有分佈。樹皮赤褐色，不規則片狀剝落。葉線狀披針形，螺旋排列於小枝上，扭成不規則之2列。雌雄異株；雄球花單一，腋生；雌球花單一，腋生。種子堅果狀，包於紅色肉質假種皮內，11月間成熟。

An evergreen coniferous large tree in the genus Taxus, native to Taiwan, and also distributed from the Himalayas to the southeast of China. The plant has reddish-brown barks which shed flakes in irregular shapes. Leaves are linear lanceolate, spirally arranged on branchlets, twisted into 2 irregular rows. Dioecious; both female and male flowers are solitary and axillary. Seeds are nut-shaped, wrapped in red fleshy aril, mature in November.

半日照至全日照環境，耐陰性強，在疏樹蔭下或建築物遮陽處種植亦能生長良好。介質以富含有機質且排水通暢者為宜。播種、扦插、高壓法繁殖。

The plant enjoys half-sun to full-sun environments, highly shade-tolerant so it can grow well under tree shade or the shade of buildings. The medium is preferably rich in organic matter and good drainage. Propagated by seeding, cutting and air layering.

樹形美觀、葉片細緻，可做庭園景觀樹。木材常被用為建築、家具、雕刻及佛像。紅豆杉又名紫杉，樹皮、枝、葉有紫杉醇成份，具細胞有絲分裂的抑制劑，可用於卵巢癌和乳腺癌。作為藥用必須以科學方法提製，直接取用枝葉恐會中毒。

The tree has a beautiful shape and exquisite leaves, a great garden landscape tree. The timber is often used in building construction, making furniture, engraving and Buddha statues. The tree is also known as yew because it contains paclitaxel in the bark, branches and leaves. Paclitaxel is an inhibitor of cell mitosis which can be used to treat ovarian cancer and breast cancer. As a medicinal product, it must be undergone a scientific extraction process, direct ingestion of the branches and leaves may cause toxication.