Arbutus unedo 'ATLANTIC' hardy strawberry tree

Arbutus

The strawberry tree is a Mediterranean woody plant that you may easily miss passing by local rocks and plains, because there it is just as naturalized, ubiquitous, and often oddly shaped as, for example, the common elder is in Central European countryside. Somewhat surprisingly, the genus Arbutus belongs to the heath family (Ericaceae) and includes several species of evergreen shrubs and small trees distributed throughout the Mediterranean region along its entire perimeter, European, African, and Near Eastern, as well as in adjacent parts of western Europe. It belongs among ancient woody plants that were already growing here around 20 million years ago, at a time when the local climate and the character of Mediterranean vegetation were only beginning to take on their present form. Under the typically harsh conditions of the maquis, strawberry trees survived cooling periods, recurring droughts, fires, and other repeated disturbances of the landscape. It is therefore no surprise that this combination of evergreen elegance, long-term drought tolerance, and the ability to regenerate after stress has rapidly brought the strawberry tree to the forefront of growers’ interest at the beginning of the new millennium. It is a prime candidate for the changing climate of today’s Central Europe, where rainfall and soil moisture are declining.

The common strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is the most widespread representative of the genus and is abundant in Mediterranean landscapes. It naturally forms the lower and middle layers of woodland. It was first scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1753 in his work Species Plantarum. The species name unedo originates from the Latin phrase unum edo: “I eat only one” traditionally attributed to Pliny the Elder (23–79 AD, Roman Italy). This refers to fruits, which are edible and sometimes quite sweet, but rather bland in flavour. This brief remark, whether meant seriously or with irony, reminds us that the strawberry tree was observed and named long before the emergence of modern botany. For centuries it remained a symbol of southern regions, where its adaptability to summer drought and its striking appearance made it popular in gardens and urban greenery, while more northerly areas were long considered beyond its reach. That has now changed.