Yew

Yew trees are one of a variety of trees that are interactive scenery found in various places. They are mostly used for Woodcutting to gather yew logs used in Fletching or Firemaking, but also play a role in Farming and Construction.

Yew trees in Woodcutting


All players with a hatchet, that they can use, and a Woodcutting level of 60 or higher can chop down a yew tree to obtain 175 experience and yew logs. The respawn rate of 1 yew tree ranges from 1 minute to 1 minute 38 seconds depending on how many people are currently playing your world. A rune or dragon hatchet is recommended, although an inferno adze can also be quite efficient. However, an Inferno Adze is not recommended for players wishing to earn a profit because it burns some logs upon cutting. As with all trees above normal trees and achey trees, yews can yield multiple logs when chopped. Yew trees are often crowded with players as there is a high demand for logs to use for Fletching and Firemaking. As a result of this it can be hard to find a world with few players cutting them, especially in free-to-play worlds. It is possible to use a total level world  in order to have less competition while woodcutting. Note, however, that a significantly larger portion of these worlds' population will have high Woodcutting than elsewhere, so this may not always be a better choice. Yew trees are marked with a rare tree mark on the mini-map. One of the best places to cut yew trees in free-to-play is in Rimmington, where four Yews can be found. After you have cut a full inventory, is it advised that you use your Explorer's ring (3) to teleport to the cabbage patch, then run to the Entrana deposit box, deposit your logs, teleport to the clan camp using the clan vexillum, and then run to the yews, as this can prove to be a very efficient way of getting yew logs. For members, one of the best spots is the yew grove west of the Catherby bank due to a close bank and a high number of trees. If one completes the Legends' quest, the Legends Guild bank becomes usable. The three yew trees just outside the guild are rarely cut, making for fast cutting and efficient banking. Another good place to chop yews is in the Gnome Stronghold, because of the nearby spirit tree teleport to the Grand Exchange. Another common place to cut yews at is Melzar's Maze, as you can set your house at Rimmington, house teleport there, and then, when your inventory is full, use the Explorer's ring 3's cabbage teleport to get back to Draynor. Another good way to do this is to bank at the deposit box in the customs office in Rimmington (shows up as "locker" in game), but you can only do so if you have started the quest Rocking out. Finally, another good place is in Seer's Village, next to the Camelot castle. There are four yew trees, and a bank nearby.

Trees in the area north of Rimmington and Port Sarim were recently updated with improved graphics. As of the Grand Exchange model update, all trees in the F2P strip of land has been updated.

Tree Locations
Yew trees can be found in the following locations:

Members' areas

 * 2 located just south of the Legends' Guild, Northeast of East Ardougne. (Near by Ardougne's bank.)
 * 3 in Zanaris.
 * 3 south-east of the Legends' Guild entrance.
 * 3 south of Seers' Village bank in a church courtyard/graveyard. (Although it is close to a bank, it is not recommended to chop here as it is often very crowded.)
 * 6 located around the Gnome Stronghold. (3 west of the bank, 3 in south-east corner.) This spot is rarely crowded and is near a bank.
 * 7 near Port Tyras past a few Dense Forests and a Tripwire trap. (4 just south of the tripwire.)
 * 7 (8 If you count the one above the Beehives.) in a grove due west of Catherby, east of the Flax Field, and directly south of the Beehives. This location is handy for its proximity to the Catherby bank, but may occasionally be busy.
 * 13 scattered around the Piscatoris Hunter Area (extremely fast if completed Deadliest Catch, with a deposit chest northeast of most yew trees, and is never busy)

A recommended level to start cutting yews is level 75.

One of the best ways to chop yews is to complete the Defender of Varrock quest up to the point where the Armoured Zombies are attacking Varrock Palace. This makes this area a quest zone, meaning only you are in it. However, you can still chop the 3 Yew trees in the palace, making it a great place to chop.

Upon completion of the Swan Song quest players can fairly economically visit a patch of 9 yew trees starting just south of Kathy Corkat curving around the north side of Eagle's Peak. From the Piscatoris Fishing Colony bank, one can visit Kathy and she will row you down the river to the yew trees. Once you have a full inventory of logs, take the boat back to the Piscatoris Fishing Colony and bank. Upon completion of the Deadliest Catch quest this becomes the fastest and best place to cut yews with a deposit chest only a couple of clicks away to the north. A trip in one direction takes about 36 seconds from bank to cutting the tree, so though it provides an uncrowded and plentiful grove of yews other methods such as the Edgeville or Catherby Yews may be faster.

Yew trees in Farming
Members can grow a yew tree by planting a yew seed in a plant pot and watering it, waiting for it to grow into a sapling, and using the sapling on a tree patch at level 60 Farming. They gain 81 experience for this, and a further 7070.7 for checking the tree's health when it has grown. They can also be used as a tree which only you can see, making it possible to cut freely without any outer interference. A Gardener will require 10 Cactus spines as payment to look after your yew tree. Cutting down a yew or magic tree is a hard task in the Falador tasks. You may also pay the gardener 200 coins to destroy the tree. This tree currently takes 380 minutes, or 6 hours 20 minutes, to grow.

Trivia

 * A yew tree is a coniferous tree, similar to a pine tree. In RuneScape, the tree looks more like a broad-leaved tree, such as the sugar maple. The new Falador area model looks more like the real tree.
 * A strong yew could be found in Lumbridge Swamp, which provides a shortcut for members to the western shores of Al Kharid. Strong trees cannot be cut. With the update on 15 February 2011, the tree looks more like a giant dead tree and has been renamed to strong tree.
 * As of 4 April 2011, all trees from Falador's south entrance to Rimmington have received a new graphical look, including yew trees. These trees also have a 10% higher chance of receiving a birds nest. Additionally, another yew tree has been added south of the cabbage farm, next to the already-existing yew tree.
 * Yews are more often cut for money than xp, as ivy gives better experience and has a faster respawn, but doesn't give any kind of log.
 * In real life yew trees are sometimes found in graveyards, planted next to the entrances. This was done to keep cattle and deer out of the graveyard as Yew trees, the wood, leaves and berries are all toxic, and animals keep away from them.
 * The yew trees in Zanaris looked like the real yew trees before the graphical update.
 * To see the older looking yew tree, one can grow in farming, and during so the stages of growth show the old yew tree graphics.