Texas Madrone

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Texas Madrone

Arbutus xalapensis at Guadalupe Pass, Texas

Scientific classification

Kingdom:	Plantae
Division:	Magnoliophyta
Class:	Magnoliopsida
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Arbutus
Species:	A. xalapensis

Binomial name

Arbutus xalapensis
Kunth

Texas Madrone or Texas Madroño (Arbutus xalapensis) is a species of Arbutus native to the southwestern United States (western Texas and New Mexico), south through most of Mexico and Central America to Nicaragua. It is found in canyons and mountains, on rocky plains, and in oak woodlands, at altitudes of up to 3,000 m in the south of the range, but lower, down to 600 m, in the north of the range.

It is a large shrub or small to medium-sized evergreen tree growing to 5-25 m tall with a trunk up to 50 cm diameter, with smooth orange-brown bark peeling in thin sheets. The size varies regionally with available rainfall, with small, shrubby plants in dry areas such as western Texas and New Mexico, and larger trees in moister areas of Mexico; plants in Texas, New Mexico, and the far northeast of Mexico are distinguished as a variety, A. xalapensis var. texana, or even a distinct species A. texana, by some botanists, but others do not regard these as distinct.

The leaves are oblong to lanceolate, 5-17 cm long and 1.5-5 cm broad, with an entire or serrated margin. The flowers are bell-shaped, white or pale pink, 5-10 mm long, produced in loose panicles. The fruit is a rough-surfaced edible red berry 1 cm diameter, containing numerous small seeds.