arbutus

Arbutus are small trees or shrubs with red flaking bark and edible red berries.Mabberley, D. J. 1997. The plant book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge. Fruit development is delayed for about five months after pollination, so that flowers appear while the previous year's fruit are ripening. Peak flowering for the genus is in April with peak fruiting in October.{{cite web|title=Arbutus – iNaturalist|url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51047-Arbutus|access-date=9 Nov 2017}}

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 {{langx|ar|قُطلُب|quṭlub}}) is brought down in Ibn al-'Awwam's 12th-century agricultural work, Book on Agriculture.{{cite book|last=Ibn al-'Awwam|first=Yaḥyá|author-link=Ibn al-'Awwam|title=Le livre de l'agriculture d'Ibn-al-Awam (kitab-al-felahah) |year=1864|location=Paris|publisher=A. Franck|translator=J.-J. Clement-Mullet |pages=233–234 (ch. 7 – Article 8)|url=https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n14/mode/2up |language=fr|oclc=780050566}} (pp. [https://archive.org/details/lelivredelagric00algoog/page/n340/mode/2up 233]–234 (Article VIII)

File:MadroneLignotuber.jpg near ground level provides fire-resistant storage of energy and sprouting buds if fire damage requires replacement of the trunk or limbs. Note the typically smooth orange bark on the upper portion of the trunk.]]

Members of the genus are called madrones or madronas in the United States, from the Spanish name madroño (strawberry tree). On the south coast of British Columbia, Canada, where the species is common, arbutus is commonly used or, rarely and locally, "tick tree".{{Cite book

| last = Pojar

| first = Jim

| author2 = Andy MacKinnon

| title = Plants of Coastal British Columbia

| publisher = Lone Pine Publishing

| location = Vancouver

| year = 1994

| pages = 49

| isbn = 978-1-55105-042-3}}{{Cite book

| last = Francis

| first = Daniel

| title = The Encyclopedia of British Columbia

| publisher = Harbour Publishing

| location = Madeira Park, BC

| edition = 2nd

| year = 2000

| pages = 20

| isbn = 978-1-55017-200-3}} All refer to the same species, Arbutus menziesii, native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern and Central California regions. It is Canada's only native broadleaved evergreen tree. Some species in the genera Epigaea, Arctostaphylos and Gaultheria were formerly classified in Arbutus. As a result of its past classification, Epigaea repens (mayflower) has an alternative common name of "trailing arbutus".

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.{{cite journal|author1=Hileman, Lena C. |author2=Vasey, Michael C. |author3=Parker, V. Thomas |year= 2001|title=Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Arbutoideae (Ericaceae): Implications for the Madrean-Tethyan Hypothesis|journal=Systematic Botany|volume=26|issue=1|pages=131–143|jstor=2666660|doi=10.1043/0363-6445-26.1.131|doi-broken-date=1 November 2024 }} The 12 species are as follows:

• Arbutus andrachne L. – Greek strawberry tree (Southeastern Europe and southwestern Asia)
• Arbutus canariensis Duhamel – Canary madrone (Canary Islands)
• Arbutus pavarii Pampan. (Libya)
• Arbutus unedo L. – strawberry tree (Mediterranean Basin, western France, and western Ireland){{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/splist.pl?905 |title=GRIN Species Records of Arbutus |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |access-date=2012-04-17}}

• 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)Paul D. Sørensen 1987. Arbutus tessellata (Ericaceae), new from Mexico Brittonia, 39(2):263–267.
• Arbutus xalapensis Kunth (syn. A. texana, A. glandulosa, A. peninsularis) – Texas madrone (Texas, New Mexico and northeastern Mexico)

• Arbutus × andrachnoides Link (A. andrachne × A. unedo): this hybrid has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.{{cite web

| url= https://www.rhs.org.uk/Plants/1470/i-Arbutus-i-×-i-andrachnoides-i/Details

|title = RHS Plantfinder – Arbutus × andrachnoides

| publisher = Royal Horticultural Society | access-date=12 January 2018}}

• Arbutus × androsterilis (A. canariensis × A. unedo) in Canary Islands {{cite journal

|title = RHS Plantfinder - Arbutus × androsterilis, a New Interspecific Hybrid between A. canariensis and A. unedo from the Canary Islands

| journal = Taxon | volume = 42 | issue = 4 | pages = 789–792 | publisher = Royal Horticultural Society |jstor = 1223264|last1 = Pascual|first1 = M. Salas| last2 = Acebes Ginovés | first2 = J. R. | last3 = Del Arco Aguilar | first3 = M. | year = 1993 | doi = 10.2307/1223264 }}

• Arbutus × thuretiana Demoly (A. andrachne × A. canariensis)
• Arbutus × reyorum [ (A. andrachne × A. canariensis) × A. unedo ]

• 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.)

Arbutus species are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera species including emperor moth, Pavonia pavonia and the madrone butterfly.{{Cite journal|last1=P. G.|first1=Kevan|last2=R. A.|first2=Bye|date=1991|title=natural history, sociobiology, and ethnobiology of Eucheira socialis Westwood (Lepidoptera: Pieridae), a unique and little-known butterfly from Mexico|url=http://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201301742531|journal=Entomologist|language=en|issn=0013-8878|s2cid=90641218|access-date=2017-11-13|archive-date=2020-07-28|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20200728113545/https://agris.fao.org/agris-search/search.do?recordID=US201301742531|url-status=dead}} The distribution of the latter species is in fact heavily affected by the distribution of the madrone. For Athenaios, it is the tree which Asclepiades of Myrlea talks about (Deiphnosophists, II.35)

File:El oso y el madroño de la Puerta del Sol, Madrid.jpg at Puerta del Sol, Madrid]]

Several species are widely cultivated as ornamental plants outside of their natural ranges, though cultivation is often difficult due to their intolerance of root disturbance. The hybrid Arbutus 'Marina' is much more adaptable and thrives under garden conditions.

The Arbutus unedo tree makes up part of the coat of arms ({{Lang|es|El oso y el madroño}}, The Bear and the Strawberry Tree) of the city of Madrid, Spain. A statue of a bear eating the fruit of the madroño tree stands in the center of the city (Puerta del Sol). The image appears on city crests, taxi cabs, man-hole covers, and other city infrastructure.

The Arbutus is important to the Straits Salish people of Vancouver Island, who used arbutus bark and leaves to create medicines for colds, stomach problems, and tuberculosis, and as the basis for contraceptives. The tree also figures in myths of the Straits Salish.Pojar and MacKinnon, 49

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,{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}} 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.{{Cite web |title=First Nations |url=https://www.centralsaanich.ca/our-community/first-nations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228050558/https://www.centralsaanich.ca/our-community/first-nations |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |access-date=December 28, 2023 |website=District of Central Saanich}}{{cite web|title=Four Stories Of How Things Came To Be|date=21 May 2020 |url=https://wsanec.com/four-stories-of-how-things-came-to-be/}}

"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).

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, [https://www.netflix.com/watch/81732542?trackId=14170286 has said](24:50). "Yes, I love arbutus honey. It's sweet honey that's also bitter. I'm obsessed with the bitterness."

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 madrone helped people survive by providing an anchor on top of a mountain for their canoes. Because of this the Saanich people do not burn madrone out of thanks for saving them.{{Cite web |title=First Nations |url=https://www.centralsaanich.ca/our-community/first-nations |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231228050558/https://www.centralsaanich.ca/our-community/first-nations |archive-date=December 28, 2023 |access-date=December 28, 2023 |website=District of Central Saanich}}Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska, Paul Alaback, {{ISBN|978-1-55105-530-5}}{{cite web|title=Four Stories Of How Things Came To Be|date=21 May 2020 |url=https://wsanec.com/four-stories-of-how-things-came-to-be/}}

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

{{clear}}

• Myrica rubra, a different plant bearing a similar fruit, whose name is sometimes inaccurately translated from Chinese as Arbutus

{{Reflist|26em}}

{{NIE Poster}}

• {{cite journal | last1 = Hileman | first1 = Lena C. | last2 = Vasey | first2 = Michael C. | last3 = Thomas Parker | first3 = V. | year = 2001 | title = Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Arbutoideae (Ericaceae): Implications for the Madrean-Tethyan Hypothesis | journal = Systematic Botany | volume = 26 | issue = 1| pages = 131–143 | doi = 10.1043/0363-6445-26.1.131 | doi-broken-date = 1 November 2024 | jstor=2666660}}

{{Wikispecies}}

{{Commons category|position=left}}

{{Arbutoideae}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q430057}}

{{Authority control}}

Category:Ericaceae genera