Arbutus menziesii

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Arbutus menziesii, or Pacific madrone (commonly madrone or madrona in the United States and arbutus in Canada), is a species of broadleaf evergreen tree in the family Ericaceae. It has waxy foliage, a contorted growth habit, and flaky bark.

It is native to the western coastal areas of North America, from British Columbia to California.

Description

Arbutus menziesii is an evergreen tree about Template:Convert in height, but in the right conditions up to Template:Convert. The trunk is usually about Template:Convert thick.<ref name="arno">Template:Cite book</ref> The thin bark is a rich orange-red, and when mature naturally peels away in thin sheets, leaving a greenish, silvery appearance that has a smooth satin sheen.<ref name="Reeves">Template:Cite web</ref> Older trunks are gray-brown near the base.<ref name="arno" /> Individual trees can live for over 300 years.<ref name="arno" />

The leaves are thick with a waxy texture, elliptical, Template:Convert long and Template:Convert broad, arranged spirally; they are glossy dark green above and a lighter, more grayish green beneath, with an entire margin. The leaves are evergreen, lasting a few years before detaching. Some second-year leaves turn orange to red and detach in the autumn.<ref name="arno" /> In the north of its range, wet winters often promote a brown to black leaf discoloration due to fungal infections;<ref>Metcalf, pp. 69–70</ref><ref name="rg">Template:Cite news</ref> the stain lasts until the leaves naturally detach at the end of their lifespan.

In spring, the tree bears sprays of small white to pink bell-like flowers,<ref name="arno" /> and in autumn, red berries.<ref name="Reeves" />

Common names

It is nicknamed the "refrigerator tree" because its bark contains water, and it stays cool in the summer.Template:Citation needed

In Canada, it is simply referred to as arbutus. It is known in the United States as the madrona,<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> madrone, madroño, madroña, or bearberry. The name strawberry tree (A. unedo) may also be found in relation to A. menziesii (though it has no relation to the strawberry fruit). According to the Sunset Western Garden Book, in the United States, the name "madrone" is more common south of the Siskiyou Mountains of southern Oregon and Northern California and the name "madrona" is more common north of the Siskiyous. The Concow tribe calls the tree dis-tā'-tsi (Konkow language) or kou-wät′-chu.<ref>Chesnut, p. 406</ref> Its species name was given it in honor of the Scottish naturalist Archibald Menzies, who noted it during George Vancouver's voyage of exploration.<ref name="usfs">Template:Cite web</ref><ref name="oe">Template:Cite encyclopedia</ref>

Distribution and habitat

Madrones are native to the western coast of North America, from British Columbia (chiefly Vancouver Island and the Gulf Islands) to California. They are mainly found in Puget Sound, the Oregon Coast Range, and the California Coast Ranges, but are also scattered on the west slope of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges. They are rare south of Santa Barbara County, with isolated stands south to Palomar Mountain in California.<ref name="Reeves" /> One author lists their southern range as extending as far as Baja California in Mexico,<ref name="Hitchcock1959">Template:Cite book</ref> but others point out that there are no recorded specimens collected that far south,<ref name="Reeves" /> and the trees are absent from modern surveys of native trees there.<ref name="Minnich">Template:Cite journal</ref> However, other Arbutus species are endemic to the area.

It fares well in dry and rocky sites, is tolerant of salt water, but fairly intolerant of shade.<ref name="arno" />

Ecology

The tree can be found growing along with Douglas-fir.<ref name="arno" /> The thin bark is susceptible to fire, but new saplings readily sprout after such disturbances.<ref name="arno" /> Mature trees survive fire, and can regenerate more rapidly after fire than Douglas-firs. Pacific madrone also produce very large numbers of seeds, which sprout following fire.<ref name="Reeves" /> The tree also sprouts from cut stems.<ref name="arno" />

Many mammal and bird species feed off the berries,<ref>Niemiec, et al., p. 82</ref> including juncos, American robins, cedar waxwings, band-tailed pigeons, varied thrushes, quail, mule deer, raccoons, ring-tailed cats, and bears. As the fruit are produced in great quantity and may persist on the tree into winter, their value as a food source is great. Mule deer will also eat the young shoots when the trees are regenerating after fire.<ref name="Reeves" /><ref name="usda">Template:Cite web</ref> The flowers also produce nectar which can be made into honey.<ref name="Audubon">Template:Cite book</ref> Mature leaves are almost always ignored by browsing animals, but young leafy sprouts are eaten by ungulates and the dusky-footed woodrat. It is considered a high-importance winter forage species for many ungulates.<ref name="USDA FEIS">Template:Cite web</ref>

It is important as a nest site for many birds,<ref name=usda/> and in mixed woodland it seems to be chosen for nestbuilding disproportionately to its numbers.Template:Citation needed This may be due to the susceptibility of the tree to heart rot, which makes it desirable for cavity-nesting birds. Pacific Madrona also provides cover for big game and small mammals, and perching sites for a variety of bird species. They are important habitat for woodpecker and sapsucker species.<ref name="USDA FEIS" />

Pathogens

Arbutus menziesii has low disease resistance and hosts many pathogens such as heart rot, butt rot, and stem cankers. It is afflicted by a fungal leaf blister disease caused by Exobasidium vaccinii which causes mostly aesthetic damage.<ref name="USDA FEIS" /> The species is also lethally affected by fungi of the genus Phytophthora, including the sudden oak death (Phytophthora ramorum) which damages branches and foliage,<ref name=Reeves/> and a canker disease caused by Phytophthora cactorum which leads to root and butt rot.<ref name="USDA FEIS" /> Other pathogens include Arbutus canker (Nattrassia mangiferae), which causes shoot blight; Fusicoccum aesculi which causes dieback and creates a burned appearance; and Neofusicoccum arbuti, madrone canker, which cause dead or dying branches, crown dieback, cankers, and sometimes death.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> Thinning stands, soil loss and compaction, and a host of other impacts increase susceptibility to disease, especially on less dense stands.<ref name="USDA FEIS" />

Conservation

Although drought tolerant and relatively fast growing, A. menziesii is currently declining throughout most of its range. One likely cause is fire control; under natural conditions, the madrona depends on intermittent naturally occurring fires to reduce the conifer overstory.<ref name=usfs/><ref name=Reeves/><ref name=usda/>

Increasing development pressures in its native habitat have also contributed to a decline in the number of mature specimens. This tree is extremely sensitive to alteration of the grade or drainage near the root crown. Until about 1970, this phenomenon was not widely recognized on the west coast; thereafter, many local governments have addressed this issue by stringent restrictions on grading and drainage alterations when A. menziesii trees are present.Template:Citation needed

Invasive species such as Scotch broom and gorse are a threat to the Pacific madrona as they can invade natural areas and outcompete young saplings for space, light, nutrients, and water.<ref name="USDA FEIS" />

Largest specimen burned

During the Soberanes Fire in mid-2016, the largest known specimen of madrone was burned and possibly killed. The tree, Template:Convert tall and more than Template:Convert in circumference, was listed on the American Forests National Big Tree list, a register of the biggest trees by species in the United States. The tree was located within the Joshua Creek Canyon Ecological Reserve on the Big Sur Coast of California.<ref>Template:Cite web</ref> The fire was caused by an illegal campfire.<ref name="Cause">Template:Cite news</ref>

Cultivation

The trees are difficult to transplant and a seedling should be set in its permanent spot while still small.<ref name="rg" /> Transplant mortality becomes significant once a madrone is more than Template:Convert tall. The site should be sunny (south- or west-facing slopes are best), well drained, and lime-free (although occasionally a seedling will establish itself on a shell midden).<ref name="rg" /><ref name=usda/> In its native range, a tree needs no extra water or food once it has become established.

Uses

The berries are considered unpalatable and may be harmful if consumed by people or pets.<ref name=usda/><ref name="rhs">Template:Cite web</ref> According to legend, Native Americans ate the berries raw and cooked, but because the berries have a high tannin content and are thus astringent, they more often chewed them or made them into a cider. Overeating causes cramps.<ref name="Audubon" /> Native Americans also use the berries to make necklaces and other decorations, and as bait for fishing (as did the Karuk people to catch steelhead).<ref name="arno" /> The bark was often made into tea to be drunk for supposed medicinal purposes.<ref name="usda" /><ref name="sfsu">Template:Cite web</ref>

Early Californian settlers may have used charcoal from the species to make gunpowder.<ref name="arno" />

The wood is durable and has a warm color after finishing, so it has become more popular as a flooring material, especially in the Pacific Northwest.<ref name=usda/><ref name="floors">Template:Cite web</ref> An attractive veneer can also be made from the wood.<ref name="veneer">Template:Cite web</ref> However, because large pieces of madrona lumber warp severely and unpredictably during the drying process, they are not used much.<ref name="oe" /> Madrone is burned for firewood, though,<ref name="usda" /><ref>Niemiec, et al., pp. 81, 86</ref> since it is a very hard and dense wood that burns long and hot, surpassing even oak in this regard.Template:Cn The W̱SÁNEĆ 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 name="saanich">Template:Cite web</ref><ref>Template:Cite web</ref>

References

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Works cited

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