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{{Otheruses}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = ''Arbutus''
| image = Madrone.jpg
| image_width = 240px
| image_caption = ''[[Pacific Madrone|Arbutus menziesii]]'' trunk
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[Flowering plant|Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = '''''Arbutus'''''
| genus_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision =
See text.
}}
'''''Arbutus''''' is a [[genus]] of at least 14 species of [[flowering plant]]s in the family [[Ericaceae]], native to warm temperate regions of the [[Mediterranean region|Mediterranean]], western [[Europe]], and [[North America]].

North American members of the genus are called '''Madrones''', from the [[Spanish language|Spanish]] name ''madroño''. The [[Europe]]an species are called '''Strawberry Trees''' from the superficial resemblance of the fruit to a [[strawberry]]; some species are sometimes referred to simply as the "Arbutus". Curiously, the name "Madrone" is used south of the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon/northern California and the name "Madrona" is used north of the Siskiyou Mountains according to the "Sunset Western Garden Book". North of the Canadian border, the name "Arbutus" is commonly used.<ref>On British Columbia see Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon, eds, ''Plants of Coastal British Columbia'' (Vancouver: Lone Pine Publishing, 1994), 49 and Daniel Francis, ed., ''The Encyclopedia of British Columbia'' (Madeira Park, BC: Harbour Publishing, 2000), 20.</ref> All refer to the same tree, ''Arbutus menziesii'', native to the Pacific Northwest and Northern California regions.

They are [[evergreen]] [[tree]]s or large [[shrub]]s growing to 5–25 m tall, with red or brown [[bark]]. The [[leaf|leaves]] are spirally arranged, oval to broad lanceolate, with a serrated or entire margin. The [[flower]]s are bell-shaped, 5–10 mm long, white or pink, and produced in [[raceme]]s or [[corymb]]s. The [[fruit]] is a rough-textured red or orange-red [[berry]] 1–2 cm diameter containing yellow fruit flesh with numerous very small [[seed]]s; the fruit are edible but have minimal flavour and are not widely eaten.

A recent study which analyzed ribosomal DNA from ''Arbutus'' and related genera suggests that the [[Mediterranean Basin]] species of ''Arbutus'' are not very closely related to the North American species, and that the split between the two groups of species occurred at the [[Paleogene]]/[[Neogene]] boundary.

==Species==
===Old World===
*''[[Arbutus andrachne]]'' (Greek Strawberry Tree). Southeastern [[Europe]] and southwestern [[Asia]].
*''[[Arbutus canariensis]]'' (Canary Madrone). [[Canary Islands]].
*''[[Strawberry Tree|Arbutus unedo]]'' (Strawberry Tree). Widespread in the [[Mediterranean region]] and also western [[France]] and western [[Ireland]].
*Note: the East Asian fruit ''[[Myrica rubra]]'' is often mistranslated as ''Arbutus''.
*''A. unedo'' and ''A. andrachne'' hybridise naturally where their ranges overlap; the [[hybrid]] has been named ''Arbutus × andrachnoides'' (syn. ''A. × hybrida'', or ''A. andrachne × unedo''), inheriting traits of both parent species, though fruits are not usually borne freely, and as a hybrid is unlikely to breed true from seed.

===New World===
*''[[Arbutus arizonica]]'' (Arizona Madrone). [[New Mexico]], [[Arizona]] and western [[Mexico]] south to [[Jalisco]].
*''[[Arbutus glandulosa]]''. Central and southern Mexico.
*''[[Pacific Madrone|Arbutus menziesii]]'' (Pacific Madrone). West coast of [[North America]] from southern [[British Columbia]] to central [[California]], on the west slopes of the [[Sierra Nevada (U.S.)|Sierra Nevada]] and [[Pacific Coast Range]] mountains.
*''[[Arbutus peninsularis]]''. [[Baja California Peninsula]] of [[Mexico]].
*''[[Texas Madrone|Arbutus xalapensis]]'' (Texas Madrone; syn. ''A. texana''). [[Texas]], [[New Mexico]] and northeastern [[Mexico]].

''Arbutus'' species are used as food plants by some [[Lepidoptera]] species including [[Pavonia pavonia|Emperor Moth]].

Several species are widely cultivated as [[ornamental plant]]s outside of their natural ranges, though cultivation is often difficult due to their intolerance of root disturbance.

Some species in the genera ''[[Epigaea]]'', ''[[Arctostaphylos]]'' and ''[[Gaultheria]]'' were formerly classified in ''Arbutus''. As a result of its past classification, ''[[Epigaea|Epigaea repens]]'' (Mayflower) has an alternative common name of "trailing arbutus".

==Uses and symbolism==
[[Image:El oso y el madroño de la Puerta del Sol, Madrid.jpg|thumb|The bear and the tree at [[Puerta del Sol]], Madrid]]
The ''Arbutus unedo'' tree makes up part of [[Coat of arms of Madrid|the coat of arms]] (''El oso y el madroño'', The Bear and the Strawberry Tree) of the city of [[Madrid]], [[Spain]]. In the center of the city (Puerta del Sol) there is a statue of a bear eating the fruit of the Madroño tree. The image appears on city crests, taxi cabs, man-hole covers, and other city infrastructure.

The Arbutus was 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 figured into certain myths of the Straits Salish.<ref>Pojar and MacKinnon, 49</ref>

{{cleanup-gallery}}
<gallery>
Image:Arbutus_Victoria.jpg|''Arbutus menziesii''—full tree
Image:PacificMadroneBlossom.jpg|''Arbutus menziesii''—flowers
Image:PacificMadronaBark.jpg|''Arbutus menziesii''—bark
Image:Arbutusunedo01.jpg|''Arbutus unedo''—Corsica
Image:Arbutusunedo02.jpg|''Arbutus unedo''—leaves and fruit
Image:Arbutus_sp._fruit.jpg|''Arbutus unedo''—fruit
Image:MadroneRefrigeratorTree2.jpg|Photographed in Los Altos, CA, Redwood Nature Preserve
</gallery>
<br clear=all />

==Notes==

<references/>

==References==
* Hileman, Lena C., Vasey, Michael C., & Thomas Parker, V. 2001. Phylogeny and Biogeography of the Arbutoideae (Ericaceae): Implications for the Madrean-Tethyan Hypothesis. ''Systematic Botany'' 26 (1): 131–143.
[[Category:Ericaceae]]

Arbutus - Revision history

MediaWiki default at 09:41, 9 October 2007