The trees of Western Yew are male or female; the small male pollen cones are shown in this photo taken in the spring. An understory tree or large shrub, Western Yew is most common on the southeast side of the Park, particularly along Laughingwater Creek. The scaly bark is reddish to brown.

The branches are long and drooping, and the trees may have multiple trunks.

The female "cones", as shown in the photo, are unconventional for a conifer. They are red and berrylike; within is a single seed.

The flattened needles are pointed although not prickly and arranged in 2 ranks along the branches.