madroño
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madroño
(mədrōn`yə), tree or shrub (Arbutus menziesii) of the family Ericaceae (heathheath,in botany, common name for some members of the Ericaceae, a family of chiefly evergreen shrubs with berry or capsule fruits. Plants of the heath family form the characteristic vegetation of many regions with acid soils, particularly the moors, swamps, and mountain slopes
..... Click the link for more information. family), native to the Pacific coast of North America and Mexico. It has glossy evergreen leaves, white flowers, and red berries and is cultivated in warm regions for ornament. The bark, which peels off naturally from the trunk to give the tree a naked appearance, has been a source of a brown dye and of tannin, and the hardwood is sometimes used for furniture. A related Mediterranean species, the strawberry tree (A. unedo), also supplies tannin and has edible berries used in preserves, wines, and liqueurs. This genus should not be confused with the plant of the same family whose common name is trailing arbutustrailing arbutus,
Mayflower,
or ground laurel,
one of the best-loved American wildflowers, said by Whittier to have been the first blossom seen on these shores by the Pilgrims (introduction to "The Mayflowers").
..... Click the link for more information. . Madroño is classified in the division MagnoliophytaMagnoliophyta
, division of the plant kingdom consisting of those organisms commonly called the flowering plants, or angiosperms. The angiosperms have leaves, stems, and roots, and vascular, or conducting, tissue (xylem and phloem).
..... Click the link for more information. , class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae.
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