Landscape Plants

Evergreen trees or shrubs, branches opposite.  Leaves needle-like, spirally arranged, but appear nearly 2-ranked on an even plane, a distinct mid-vein above, 2 wide stomatal bands below.  Plants dioecious- male and female "flowers" on separate plants.  Male strobili in globe-like heads in leaf-axils of young shoots.  Female cones, 1-3, in basal scales of very young shoots.   Native range from the Himalayas to East Asia; specifically southern and eastern Asia-Japan, Korea, south, central, and eastern China, Hainan, Taiwan, India, Burma, Laos, and parts of Vietnam.
Cephalotaxus: Greek kephle, a head; taxus, a yew, a reference to the appearance of the trees which resemble yews.