Natural History

Arbutus unedo

Arbutus unedo, commonly known as strawberry-tree, or strawberry tree, also called madroño in Spanish, is an evergreen shrub or small tree in the family Ericaceae, native to the Mediterranean Basin and Western Europe. The tree is well known for its fruit, the arbutus berry, which bears some resemblance to the strawberry, hence the common name strawberry-tree. However, it is not closely related to true strawberries of the genus Fragaria. Its presence in Ireland also lends it the name Irish strawberry-tree, or cain, or cane apple, from the Irish name for the tree, caithne), or sometimes Killarney strawberry-tree. The strawberry-tree is the national tree of Italy because of its green leaves, its white flowers and its red berries, colours that recall the Italian flag. The flower is the national flower of Italy.

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See also

• ▸Bioregion
• ▸Eric Feigl-Ding
• ▸Arizona/New Mexico Mountains ecoregion

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