Arbutus

Arbutus is a genus of 12 accepted species of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae, native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands and North America, and commonly called madrones, madronas, or strawberry trees. The name Arbutus was taken by taxonomists from Latin, where it referred to the species now designated Arbutus unedo.

Description

Vegetative characteristics

Arbutus are evergreen trees or shrubs with red flaking bark. The petiolate, are alternate. bear bisexual, globose berry

Taxonomy

It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753. The type species is Arbutus unedo It is placed in the subfamily Arbutoideae.

A study published in 2001 which analyzed ribosomal DNA from Arbutus and related genera suggests that Arbutus is paraphyletic and the Mediterranean Basin species of Arbutus are more closely related to Arctostaphylos, Arctous, Comarostaphylis, Ornithostaphylos and Xylococcus than to the western North American species of Arbutus, and that the split between the two groups of species occurred at the Paleogene/Neogene boundary. The 12 species are as follows:

Americas

Arbutus arizonica (A.Gray) Sarg. – Arizona madrone (New Mexico, Arizona and western Mexico south to Jalisco)
Arbutus bicolor S. González, M. González et P. D. Sørensen (Mexico)
Arbutus madrensis M. González – western Mexico
Arbutus menziesii Pursh – Pacific madrone (West coast of North America from southern British Columbia to central (less frequently southern) California, on the west slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Pacific Coast Range mountains)
Arbutus mollis Kunth (Mexico)
Arbutus occidentalis McVaugh & Rosatti - western Mexico
Arbutus tessellata (Mexico)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth (syn. A. texana, A. glandulosa, A. peninsularis) – Texas madrone (Texas, New Mexico and northeastern Mexico)
Arbutus × androsterilis (A. canariensis × A. unedo) in Canary Islands
Arbutus × thuretiana Demoly (A. andrachne × A. canariensis)
Arbutus × reyorum [ (A. andrachne × A. canariensis) × A. unedo ]

Formerly placed here

Arctostaphylos tomentosa (Pursh) Lindl. (as A. tomentosa Pursh)
Arctostaphylos uva-ursi (L.) Spreng. (as A. uva-ursi L.)
Comarostaphylis discolor (Hook.) Diggs (as A. discolor Hook.)
Gaultheria phillyreifolia (Pers.) Sleumer (as A. phillyreifolia Pers.) The distribution of the latter species is in fact heavily affected by the distribution of the madrone. In Oregon and California, it is usually called the madrone, while madrona is the common name in Washington State.

The fruit is edible but has minimal flavour and is not widely eaten. In Portugal, the fruit is sometimes distilled (legally or not) into a potent brandy known as medronho. In Madrid, the fruit is distilled into madroño, a sweet, fruity liqueur.

Arbutus is a good fuelwood tree since it burns hot and long. Many Pacific Northwest states in the United States use the wood of A. menziesii primarily as a heat source, as the wood holds no value in the production of homes since it does not grow in straight timbers.

The Saanich people of British Columbia have a prohibition against burning Arbutus, due to its salvific role in their creation myths; an Arbutus anchored their canoes to the world during the deluge.

"My love's an Arbutus" is the title of a poem by the Irish writer Alfred Perceval Graves (1846–1931), set to music by his compatriot Charles Villiers Stanford (1852–1924). Graves may have been referring to the Irish strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, rather than the Arbutus genus in general.

The Canadian songwriter, singer and painter Joni Mitchell (born 1943) includes a reference to the "Arbutus rustling" in her song, "For The Roses". It sounded like applause. She calls the Arbutus tree her "favorite all-time tree". She had one outside her door in a house she built.

"I love arbutuses," celebrated French chef Alain Ducasse, recipient of 20 Michelin stars, has said(24:50). "Yes, I love Arbutus honey. It's sweet honey that's also bitter. I'm obsessed with the bitterness."

The smooth wood of the tree is mentioned by Theophrastus in his Enquiry into Plants (Historia Plantarum) as formerly being used to make weaving spindles. An article on Arbutus tree cultivation in al-Andalus (in ) is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.

Cultural significance

According to the Straits Salish, an anthropomorphic form of pitch would go fishing, but return to shore before it got too hot. One day he was too late getting back to shore and melted from the heat and several anthropomorphic trees rushed to get him – the first was Douglas fir, who took most of the pitch, the grand fir received a small portion, and the madrone received none – which is why they say it still has no pitch.

Also, according to the Great Flood legends of several bands in the northwest, the madrona helped people survive by providing an anchor on top of a mountain for their canoes. Because of this, the Saanich people do not burn madrona out of thanks for saving them.

Gallery

File:Ab plant 1359.jpg|Arbutus andrachne

File:Arbutus canariensis kz7.JPG|Arbutus canariensis

File:Arbutus menziesii 3208s.JPG|Arbutus menziesii

File:Cireres de pastor Cirerer d'arboç Arbutus unedo.jpg|Arbutus unedo

File:Arbutus xalapensis Guadalupe Mountains.jpg|Arbutus xalapensis

File:Arbutus × andrachnoides in Hackfalls Arboretum (2).jpg|The hybrid Arbutus × andrachnoides

File:Arbutus x thuretiana2-Clapiers-7636~2020 03 23.jpg|The hybrid Arbutus × thuretiana

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