The Sonsbeek Yew

A yew with a waist over three metres is a rare object in the Netherlands, which is the national register's own judgement and the reason this tree is on the list at all. Yew grows slowly and stays modest in most Dutch gardens. This one was given a planting year of 1850 and has put on enough wood since to pass a circumference the register declines to state exactly, recording only that it is more than 300 centimetres. Take that as a floor rather than a measurement; the true figure may well be larger. It grows beside the pond below the Sonsbeek villa, next to a statue, in what the register calls a beautiful spot, and it is easy to walk straight past, because a yew in summer reads as dark green background rather than as a tree with a history. Something heavy came down on it not long ago, either a storm or a neighbouring tree falling across it, and the damage was described as fairly severe. At the most recent inspection the tree was judged to be in good condition regardless, which is what yews do. They outlive their own injuries. Free, in the open park, about fifteen minutes on foot from Arnhem Centraal. The register is the only source that has recorded this tree, so the 1850 date is one authority's estimate, sitting inside a coarser band of 1850 to 1860.