Torreya californica

California torreya or California nutmeg is in the yew or Taxaceae family and is native to California, USA, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the foothills of the Sierra Nevada Mountains. It is an evergreen tree growing up to 25 m tall.

• Evergreen leaves are needle-like, stiff, sharp pointed, 3–5 cm long and 3 mm broad; they are arranged spirally, but twisted at the base to lie flat either side of the shoots.
• Male male pollen cones are 5–7 mm long, grouped in lines along the underside of a shoot. Female seed cones are single or grouped 2–5 together on a short stem; they mature in about 18 months to a drupe-like structure with the single large nut-like seed 2.5–4 cm long surrounded by a fleshy covering, dark green to purple at full maturity in the fall.
• Wood is sometimes used in making Go boards, using it as a cheaper substitute for the prized Japanese nutmeg yew (Torreya nucifera) of Japan and Southeast Asia.