Flambeaux Japanese Yew

In 1989, Steve Sanchez, a landscape architect in Atlanta, was stopped at an intersection in his hometown of New Orleans when he noticed a peculiar tree with dense “furry” branches twisting in an upright swirl, much like a flame. Recognizing this to be a Japanese Yew, Podocarpus macrophyllus, he was impressed by the unusual form and made a mental note of its location. 10 years later, his wife, also a landscape architect, independently noticed the same tree and made a comment to him. He knew it was time to get this special tree into the trade. It was named Flambeaux in reference to a Mardi Gras traditional of flames being used to light up floats at night. The dense upright narrow form sets this tree apart from seedling Podocarpus which often have to be sheered to control their wild branching structure.