Arbutus

{{Short description|Genus of flowering plants in the heather family Ericaceae}} {{Redirect|Madrone}} {{About|the plant genus}} {{Automatic taxobox |image = Arbouse.jpg |image_caption = ''Arbutus unedo'' |taxon = Arbutus |authority = L.<ref name="GRIN">{{cite web |url=http://www.ars-grin.gov/cgi-bin/npgs/html/genus.pl?905 |title=Genus: ''Arbutus'' L. |work=Germplasm Resources Information Network |publisher=United States Department of Agriculture |date=2003-06-04 |access-date=2012-04-17}}</ref> |type_species = ''Arbutus unedo'' |type_species_authority = L.<ref name="IPNI" /> |subdivision_ranks = Species |subdivision = See here |synonyms = *''Unedo'' {{au|Hoffmanns. & Link}} |synonyms_ref = <ref name="POWO">{{cite web | title=''Arbutus'' L. | website=Plants of the World Online | url=https://powo.science.kew.org/taxon/30008667-2 | access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref> }} {{wikt | arbutus|madrone}}

'''''Arbutus''''' is a genus of 12 accepted species<ref name="Acta Botanica Mexicana">Act. Bot. Mex no.99 Pátzcuaro abr. 2012. [http://www.scielo.org.mx/scielo.php?script=sci_arttext&pid=S0187-71512012000200004 ''Arbutus bicolor'']</ref> of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae,<ref name=PlantList>{{cite web | title=The plant list, ''Arbutus'' | url= http://www.theplantlist.org/tpl1.1/search?q=arbutus |publisher= Royal Botanic Garden, Kew }}</ref> native to temperate regions of the Mediterranean, western Europe, the Canary Islands and North America, and commonly called '''madrones''',<ref>{{Cite book|title= Trees and Shrubs of California|first1= John D.|last1= Stuart|first2= John O.|last2= Sawyer|publisher= University of California Press|page= 150|isbn= 978-0-520-22110-9|date= 2001}}</ref> '''madronas''',<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |date=2020-05-17 |title=The Pacific Madrone |url=https://salishmagazine.org/the-pacific-madrone/ |access-date=2026-02-26 |website=Salish Magazine |language=en-US}}</ref> or '''strawberry trees'''. The name ''Arbutus'' was taken by taxonomists from Latin, where it referred to the species now designated ''Arbutus unedo''.<ref> {{cite book |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=esMPU5DHEGgC |title= CRC World Dictionary of Plant Names |volume= I: A–C |first= Umberto |last= Quattrocchi |publisher= CRC Press |year= 2000 |isbn= 978-0-8493-2675-2 |page= 182 | quote = ''Arbutus'' L Ericaceae [...] Origins: [...] The old Latin name ''arbutus i'' for the wild strawberry-tree, ''Arbutus unedo'' L.; see Carl Linnaeus, ''Species Plantarum''. 395. 1753 and ''Genera Plantarum''. Ed. 5. 187. 1754.}}</ref>

==Description== ===Vegetative characteristics=== ''Arbutus'' are evergreen trees or shrubs<ref name="VicFlora">{{cite web | title=''Arbutus'' | website=VicFlora | date=2014-01-25 | url=https://vicflora.rbg.vic.gov.au/flora/taxon/69686365-0022-47cf-a5f3-8cbe8a971e39 | access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref> with red flaking bark.<ref name=Mabberley /> The stems can produce lignotubers.<ref name="s694">{{cite journal | last1=Paula | first1=Susana | last2=Naulin | first2=Paulette I. | last3=Arce | first3=Cristian | last4=Galaz | first4=Consttanza | last5=Pausas | first5=Juli G. | title=Lignotubers in Mediterranean basin plants | journal=Plant Ecology | volume=217 | issue=6 | date=2016-06-01 | issn=1573-5052 | doi=10.1007/s11258-015-0538-9 | pages=661–676}}</ref> The petiolate,<ref name="VicFlora" /> bifacial or isofacial, ovate or elliptic leaves<ref name="Flora of North America">{{cite web | title=''Arbutus'' in Flora of North America @ efloras.org | website=eFloras.org Home | url=http://www.efloras.org/florataxon.aspx?flora_id=1&taxon_id=102447 | access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref> are alternate.<ref name="VicFlora" />

===Generative characteristics=== The 10-40-flowered racemes<ref name="Flora of North America" /> or panicles<ref name="VicFlora" /><ref name = "Jepson eFlora">Gary D. Wallace 2012, Arbutus, in Jepson Flora Project (eds.) Jepson eFlora, https://ucjeps.berkeley.edu/eflora/eflora_display.php?tid=9172, accessed on February 08, 2026.</ref> bear bisexual,<ref name="Flora of North America" /> urceolate flowers<ref name = "Jepson eFlora" /> with 5 persistent,<ref name="Flora of North America" /> basally fused sepals.<ref name="VicFlora" /> The flower has 5 petals.<ref name="Flora of North America" /> The androecium is composed of 10 stamens.<ref name="Flora of North America" /><ref name = "Jepson eFlora" /> The gynoecium is composed of 5 carpels with a capitate stigma.<ref name="Flora of North America" /> The edible, red,<ref name=Mabberley>Mabberley, D. J. 1997. ''The plant book: A portable dictionary of the vascular plants''. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.</ref> globose berry<ref name="VicFlora" /> bears 1–5 seeds.<ref name="Flora of North America" /> Fruit development is delayed for about five months after pollination, so that flowers appear while the previous year's fruit are ripening.<ref name=Mabberley/> Peak flowering for the genus is in April with peak fruiting in October.<ref name=iNaturalist>{{cite web|title=''Arbutus'' – iNaturalist|url=https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/51047-Arbutus|access-date=9 Nov 2017}}</ref>

==Taxonomy== It was described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.<ref name = "Linnaeus, 1753">{{cite book | vauthors=((Linné, Carl von)), ((Salvius, Lars)) | date= 1753 | title=Caroli Linnaei ... Species plantarum :exhibentes plantas rite cognitas, ad genera relatas, cum differentiis specificis, nominibus trivialibus, synonymis selectis, locis natalibus, secundum systema sexuale digestas... | publisher=Impensis Laurentii Salvii | volume=1 | url=https://www.biodiversitylibrary.org/page/358414}}</ref> The type species is ''Arbutus unedo'' {{au|L.}}<ref name="IPNI">{{cite web | title=''Arbutus'' L. | website=International Plant Names Index | date=1913-08-31 | url=https://www.ipni.org/n/30008667-2 | access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref> It is placed in the subfamily Arbutoideae.<ref name="VASCAN">{{cite web | title=''Arbutus'' Linnaeus | website=Database of Vascular Plants of Canada (VASCAN) | url=https://data.canadensys.net/vascan/taxon/842 | access-date=2026-02-08}}</ref>

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.<ref name=Hileman>{{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=11 July 2025 }}</ref> The 12 species are as follows:<ref name="Acta Botanica Mexicana"/>

===Afro-Eurasia=== * ''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)<ref name="GRINSpecies">{{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}}</ref>

===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)<ref>Paul D. Sørensen 1987. ''Arbutus tessellata ''(Ericaceae), new from Mexico Brittonia, 39(2):263–267.</ref> * ''Arbutus xalapensis'' Kunth (syn. ''A. texana'', ''A. glandulosa'', ''A. peninsularis'') – Texas madrone (Texas, New Mexico and northeastern Mexico)<ref name="GRINSpecies"/>

===Hybrids=== * ''Arbutus'' × ''andrachnoides'' Link (''A. andrachne × A. unedo''):<ref name="GRINSpecies"/> this hybrid has gained the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.<ref name = RHSPF>{{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}}</ref> * ''Arbutus'' × ''androsterilis'' (''A. canariensis'' × ''A. unedo'') in Canary Islands <ref name = "Arbutushyb">{{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 }}</ref> * ''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.)<ref name="GRINSpecies"/>

==Ecology== ''Arbutus'' species are used as food plants by some Lepidoptera species including emperor moth, ''Pavonia pavonia'' and the madrone butterfly.<ref name=":0">{{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}}</ref> The distribution of the latter species is in fact heavily affected by the distribution of the madrone.<ref name=":0" />

==Common names== [[File:MadroneLignotuber.jpg|thumb|right|''Arbutus menziesii'' lignotuber 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 {{wikt-lang|es|madroño}} (Mediterranean strawberry tree). On the south coast of British Columbia, Canada, where the species ''Arbutus menziesii'', native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern and Central California regions is common, ''Arbutus'' is commonly used or, rarely and locally, "tick tree".<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>{{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}}</ref> In Oregon and California, it is usually called the ''madrone'', while ''madrona'' is the common name in Washington State.<ref name=":1" /> 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''".

==Uses and symbolism== [[File:El oso y el madroño de la Puerta del Sol, Madrid.jpg|thumb|right|200px|The bear and the tree 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 ''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.<ref>Pojar and MacKinnon, 49</ref>{{Full citation needed|date=February 2026}}

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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref name="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/}}</ref>

"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, [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."

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''.<ref>{{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)</ref>

==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.<ref>{{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}}</ref><ref>''Plants of the Pacific Northwest Coast: Washington, Oregon, British Columbia & Alaska'', Paul Alaback, {{ISBN|978-1-55105-530-5}}</ref><ref name="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/}}</ref>

==Gallery== <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'' </gallery> {{clear}}

==See also== *''Myrica rubra'', a different plant bearing a similar fruit, whose name is sometimes inaccurately translated from Chinese as ''Arbutus''

==References== {{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 = 11 July 2025 | jstor=2666660}}

==External links== {{Wikispecies}} {{Commons category|position=left}}

Category:Arbutus Category:Ericaceae genera