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Texas Madrone
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 Arbutus xalapensis at Guadalupe Pass, Texas
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| 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.
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Arbutus xalapensis
- (Spanish)Bosques Tropicales y Subtropicales: Arbutus xalapensis
- (Spanish)Bosques de Encino, Pino y Pino-Encino: Arbutus xalapensis
- Plants for a Future: Arbutus xalapensis
- National Audubon Society, Field Guide to Trees, Western Region, North America, 1980, pgs. 578 & 579.