A winter collection of yew needles gave two pairs of taxicin-I and taxicin-II diesters, the structures of which were established by spectral data and chemical reactions. The mixture of these diesters might correspond to the so-called 'desdimethylaminotaxine of the old literature on yew. A detailed NMR analysis of the diesters allowed an unambiguous assignment of all 'H and 13C NMR resonances of these and related taxane derivatives.