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{{otherusesof|Strawberry}}
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Strawberry plum Tree
| image = Arbutusunedo02.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Strawberry tree leaves and fruit
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[flowering plant| Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Arbutus]]''
| species = '''''A. unedo'''''
| binomial = ''Arbutus unedo''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Strawberry Tree''' (''Arbutus unedo'' L.) is an [[evergreen]] [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Ericaceae]], native to the [[Mediterranean]] region and western [[Europe]] north to western [[France]] and [[Ireland]]. Due to its presence in South West Ireland, it is also known as Irish strawberry tree, and [[Killarney]] strawberry tree.
==Description==
The Strawberry Tree grows to 5-10 m tall, rarely up to 15 m, with a trunk diameter of up to 80 cm.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are dark green and glossy, 5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, with a serrated margin.
The [[plant sexuality|hermaphrodite]] [[flower]]s are white (rarely pale pink), bell-shaped, 4-6 mm diameter, produced panicles of 10-30 together in autumn. They are pollinated by bees.
The [[fruit]] is a red [[aggregate drupe]] 1-2 cm diameter, sometimes called <i>arbutus-berry</i>, with a rough surface, maturing 12 months at the same time as the next flowering. The fruit is edible, though many people find it bland and mealy; the name 'unedo' is explained by [[Pliny the Elder]] as being derived from ''unum edo'' "I eat one",<ref>''Natural History'' 15.28.99</ref> which may seem an apt response to the flavour. They mainly serve as food for [[bird]]s but in some countries they are used to make [[jam]] and [[liqueur]]s (such as the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] ''[[medronho]]'', a kind of strong [[brandy]]).
==Cultivation and uses==
Unlike most of the Ericaceae, it grows well in limy [[soil]]s. It is best planted in a sheltered position due to its late flowering habit(see first paragraph). To grow as a tree rather than a multi-stemmed shrub, select one stem to become the main trunk, and keep any other basal sprouts pruned off. It prefers well-drained soil and only moderate amounts of water. The Strawberry Tree is naturally adapted to dry summers, though also growing well in the cool, wet summers of western Ireland. It is therefore useful for planting in areas with a dry-summer climate, and has become a very popular garden specimen in [[California]] and the rest of the west coast of [[North America]]. It is hardy in [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] [[Hardiness zone|Hardiness Zones]] 8 to 10. [[Pest (organism)|Pests]] include [[scale insect|Scales]] and [[Thrips]], and diseases include [[anthracnose]], ''[[Phytophthora]]'', root rot, and [[Rust (fungus)|rust]].
[[Synonymy|Synonyms]] include ''Unedo edulis'' Hoffm. and ''Arbutus vulgaris'' Bub.
==Symbolic use==
[[Image:Escudo_de_Madrid.svg|thumb|120px|left|A she-bear and a strawberry tree (''madroño'') are the symbol of [[Madrid]].]]
[[Image:Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights - Garden of Earthly Delights (Ecclesia's Paradise).jpg|thumb|Central panel of ''The Garden of Earthly Delights''.]]
The title of ''[[The Garden of Earthly Delights]]'', a mysterious painting by [[Hieronymus Bosch]], is a later attribution.
It was listed in the inventories of the Spanish Crown as "the picture with the strawberry-tree fruits".
==External links==
*[http://www.shadowdrake.com/arbutus.html Strawberry Tree]
==Notes==
<references/>
{{Commons|Arbutus unedo}}
{{Wikispecies|Arbutus unedo}}
[[Category:Ericaceae]]
{{Taxobox
| color = lightgreen
| name = Strawberry plum Tree
| image = Arbutusunedo02.jpg
| image_width = 250px
| image_caption = Strawberry tree leaves and fruit
| regnum = [[Plantae]]
| divisio = [[flowering plant| Magnoliophyta]]
| classis = [[Magnoliopsida]]
| ordo = [[Ericales]]
| familia = [[Ericaceae]]
| genus = ''[[Arbutus]]''
| species = '''''A. unedo'''''
| binomial = ''Arbutus unedo''
| binomial_authority = [[Carolus Linnaeus|L.]]
}}
The '''Strawberry Tree''' (''Arbutus unedo'' L.) is an [[evergreen]] [[shrub]] or small [[tree]] in the [[family (biology)|family]] [[Ericaceae]], native to the [[Mediterranean]] region and western [[Europe]] north to western [[France]] and [[Ireland]]. Due to its presence in South West Ireland, it is also known as Irish strawberry tree, and [[Killarney]] strawberry tree.
==Description==
The Strawberry Tree grows to 5-10 m tall, rarely up to 15 m, with a trunk diameter of up to 80 cm.
The [[leaf|leaves]] are dark green and glossy, 5-10 cm long and 2-3 cm broad, with a serrated margin.
The [[plant sexuality|hermaphrodite]] [[flower]]s are white (rarely pale pink), bell-shaped, 4-6 mm diameter, produced panicles of 10-30 together in autumn. They are pollinated by bees.
The [[fruit]] is a red [[aggregate drupe]] 1-2 cm diameter, sometimes called <i>arbutus-berry</i>, with a rough surface, maturing 12 months at the same time as the next flowering. The fruit is edible, though many people find it bland and mealy; the name 'unedo' is explained by [[Pliny the Elder]] as being derived from ''unum edo'' "I eat one",<ref>''Natural History'' 15.28.99</ref> which may seem an apt response to the flavour. They mainly serve as food for [[bird]]s but in some countries they are used to make [[jam]] and [[liqueur]]s (such as the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] ''[[medronho]]'', a kind of strong [[brandy]]).
==Cultivation and uses==
Unlike most of the Ericaceae, it grows well in limy [[soil]]s. It is best planted in a sheltered position due to its late flowering habit(see first paragraph). To grow as a tree rather than a multi-stemmed shrub, select one stem to become the main trunk, and keep any other basal sprouts pruned off. It prefers well-drained soil and only moderate amounts of water. The Strawberry Tree is naturally adapted to dry summers, though also growing well in the cool, wet summers of western Ireland. It is therefore useful for planting in areas with a dry-summer climate, and has become a very popular garden specimen in [[California]] and the rest of the west coast of [[North America]]. It is hardy in [[United States Department of Agriculture|USDA]] [[Hardiness zone|Hardiness Zones]] 8 to 10. [[Pest (organism)|Pests]] include [[scale insect|Scales]] and [[Thrips]], and diseases include [[anthracnose]], ''[[Phytophthora]]'', root rot, and [[Rust (fungus)|rust]].
[[Synonymy|Synonyms]] include ''Unedo edulis'' Hoffm. and ''Arbutus vulgaris'' Bub.
==Symbolic use==
[[Image:Escudo_de_Madrid.svg|thumb|120px|left|A she-bear and a strawberry tree (''madroño'') are the symbol of [[Madrid]].]]
[[Image:Hieronymus Bosch - The Garden of Earthly Delights - Garden of Earthly Delights (Ecclesia's Paradise).jpg|thumb|Central panel of ''The Garden of Earthly Delights''.]]
The title of ''[[The Garden of Earthly Delights]]'', a mysterious painting by [[Hieronymus Bosch]], is a later attribution.
It was listed in the inventories of the Spanish Crown as "the picture with the strawberry-tree fruits".
==External links==
*[http://www.shadowdrake.com/arbutus.html Strawberry Tree]
==Notes==
<references/>
{{Commons|Arbutus unedo}}
{{Wikispecies|Arbutus unedo}}
[[Category:Ericaceae]]
