Toponymie | Canton de Potton | Place Names

Buis is also known as sapin traînard or buis de sapin, in French.  Not to be outdone, there are three names for it in English:  It is known as “Canada Yew”, as “Canada If”, or most descriptively as “ground hemlock”.  Its Latin name is Taxus canadensis.  It is a conifer native to central and eastern North America, thriving in swampy woods, ravines, along brooks, and on lakeshores.  Contrary to most other indigenous softwood, the ground hemlock is used neither for its wood nor as a source of pulp.  It is usually a sprawling shrub, rarely exceeding 2.5 m tall with thin scaly brown bark.  At maturity, the seed cones develop into a soft, bright red berry-like structure called an aril, open at the end.  These are eaten by thrushes and waxwings, amongst others.  Deer also browse on ground hemlock.

Native peoples used small quantities of yew leaf tea topically or internally to ease a variety of ailments, notably rheumatism.  Taxus canadensis is being harvested in northern Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada, as the plant is a source of the class of poisonous chemicals known as taxanes, which have been a focus for cancer research^[1].

Municipal authorities chose this name on May 15, 2000 with a view to respecting the rural character of this place and in keeping with existing themes of trees, flowers and birds.