132. ARBUTUS MENZIESII MADRONA. 31 



PHYSICAL PROPERTIES. Wood rather soft, brittle, not strong, shrink- 

 ing greatly in drying, fine-grained, and with many conspicuous medullary 

 rays; of a purple-brown color, and with abundant whitish sap-wood, 

 which soon, after being cut, assume a darker cast, especially if cut in 

 warm weather. 



USES. Little if any use is made of this tree, although its unique 

 beauty, especially when in blossom, would certainly commend it for or- 

 namental purposes. 



MEDICINAL PROPERTIES, so far as known, have never been found in 

 this species. 



ORDER ERICACEAE : HEATH FAMILY. 



Leaves commonly alternate, but sometimes opposite and rarely whorled, without 

 stipules. Flowers regular, symmetrical, perfect and 4-5-numerous ; corolla present 

 and lobed or of distinct petals: stamens as many as the lobes of the corolla, or twice 

 as many, free from it, but inserted with it on an annular disk; anthers usually in- 

 trorse, commonly appendaged and opening by terminal chinks or pores, pollen com- 

 pound, of 4 united grains (except in a few herbaceous species, the Monotropcti); pistil 

 with single style, superior or inferior ovary, having as many cells as the lobes of the 

 corolla, or rarely fewer. Fruit a berry, drupe or capsule with small anatropous 

 seeds having small embryo in fleshy albumen. 



A large family, mainly of shrubs, but a few trees and herbs, and auite various in 

 characters. 



GENUS ARBUTUS, TOURNEFORT. 



Learns alternate, coriaceous, petiolate, entire or toothed (sometimes in the same 

 plant), obscurely pinnately veined, without stipules and persistent. Flowers small, 

 white or pinkish, in terminal panicles, with pedicels developed each from the axils 

 of usually two ovate membranous and persistent bracts; calyx small, free from the 

 ovary, 5-parted nearly to the base, the lobes acute, membranous and persistent, 

 corolla gamopetalous, hypogynous, subglobose or urn-shaped, white, pinkish or 

 greenish and with 5, recurved, obtuse teeth, imbricated in aestivation, stamens 10, in- 

 cluded, inserted on the bottom of the corolla, filaments dilated and hairy at base 

 and anthers 2-celled, short, laterally compressed, iutrorse, furnished near the sum- 

 mit behind with two reflexed awns, cells opening each by a pore near the top 

 anteriorly; pistil with single columnar exserted style with terminal obsurely 5-lobed 

 stigma and 5-celled ovary sessile upon the hypogynous glandular disk, the cells con- 

 taining numerous anatrapous ovules attached to central placentae. Fruit a globose 

 berry with smooth or granular surface, 5-celled, and with several small compressed 

 pointed seeds in each cell, with axil embryo in copious hard albumen. 



A genus of few species of interesting trees and shrubs of the warmer temperate 

 regions of both hemispheres. (Arbutus is the ancient Latin name of the European 

 species.) 



132. ARBUTUS MENZIESII, PCJRSH. 



MADRONA, MADRONA LAUREL, STRAWBERRY TREE. 



Ger., Erdbeerbaum von Menzies; Fr., Arbousier Menzies; Sp., Madrona. 



SPECIFIC CHARACTERS: Leaves oval or oblong, 3-5 in. long, rounded at apex or 

 abruptly pointed, mostly rounded at base, with entire (on young shoots often serrate) 

 and slightly re volute margins, thick, coriaceous, with strong midrib and at maturity 

 lustrous dark green above, pale beneath and with conspicuously reticulate veinlets; 

 petiole i-1 in. in length, stout and with margins of blade often decurrent upon it. 

 Flowers about i in. in length and borne in rather close, pubescent, compound terminal 



