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Genus ARBUTUS, Linn. — Part 2

Madrona (Arbutus Menziesii, Pursh.)--Evergreen shrub or tree 40 to 100 feet high, with smooth, reddish brown bark, and smooth red branches. Wood heavy, hard, strong, reddish brown, close grained. Leaves alternate, persistent, entire, rounded or heart shaped at base, oval or oblong, 3 to 4 inches long, smooth, shining above, glaucous beneath. Flowers white, in erect panicles, 5 to 6 inches long, monopetalous, ovate, 1/3 inch long, perfect. Fruit a globular, many-seeded berry, 1/2 inch long, orange red, edible. Preferred habitat, well-drained soil in situations protected from dry winds. Distribution, coast region, British Columbia to California; on mountain slopes becoming shrubby. Uses: Valuable ornamental tree in warm-temperate climates. Wood used for furniture, charcoal, and bark for tanning leather.

"The Madrona, clad in thin, smooth, red and yellow bark and big glossy leaves, seems in the dark coniferous forests of Washington and Vancouver Island, like some lost wanderer from the magnolia groves of the South."

No American tree of considerable size equals this one in beauty the year around. It bears large conical clusters of white flowers, above the vivid green of its leathery leaves. The tree is further lightened by silvery leaf linings. The red-brown trunk and bright red branches add a rich colour note, which is intensified when the copious scarlet fruits appear and the two-year-old leaves turn to scarlet or orange in the autumn. Even among the redwoods this arbutus is a tree that commands attention and admiration at every season. The wood tempts the charcoal burner to chop down trees whose beauty ought to save them from destruction. The Japan Current makes them hardy in the west coast regions, and they thrive in the gardens of western and southern Europe.

The Mexican Madrona (Arbutus Xalapensis, H. B. K.), similar to the previous species in essential characters, but small in stature, has wandered up along the mountains from Mexico, and grows scattered along the limestone hillsides of western Texas. Handsome as it is, this tree is not yet known in cultivation. The Mexicans use its wood to make stirrups. It is also used for tool handles and mathematical instruments.

The Arizona Madrona (Arbutus Arizonica, Sarg.) is strikingly beautiful in the contrast of its white trunk, red branches, and lustrous pale green leaves, to which are added in spring feathery plumes of white flowers, and in the fall clusters of deep orange-red berries. It grows on high mountain slopes, but has been introduced into cultivation.

The Strawberry Tree (Arbutus Unedo, Linn.), related to our Madronas, is cultivated in Southern gardens. This brilliant little European tree bears in the fall its rosy flowers in nodding clusters along with its large scarlet fruits. It is hardy in warm-temperate regions, but requires shelter from the wind. It is also offered by dealers in red-flowered varieties.