|
Madrone (Arbutus menziesii) Everything about this tree is beautiful – the lovely, smooth, orange-brown trunk, the generous oval leaves, the yellow-white bell flowers, and the copious berries, starting yellow-green and moving through orange to bright red in the fall. In November, the berries change the color of the landscape, as patches of madrone give us a west-coast color show.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Field ID Tips · Leaves 3 to 5” long, oval, slightly pointed. Strong central vein obvious from above, and branching veins also obvious from below. · Leaves are evergreen, alternate, leathery, and often have some dark mold spots. · Ivory-colored flower in bunches of downward pointing bells.. · Red berries.
<<<BETTER FLOWER THUMB>>> <<<BERRY THUMBNAIL>>> Similar Plants Manzanita also has beautiful red bark, but the bark is redder, manzanita leaves are smaller, and manzanita generally looks more like a bush than a tree. Links: |
Madrone trees at double bow knot are easy to pick out with their distinctive trunk color. Madrone’s open branching and leaves clustered at the end of branches lets lots of blue sky through.
Madrone trunks are often a smooth orange-brown. Manzanita trunks are also smooth, but their color is redder.
Madrone flowers
Madrone flowers turning to berries.
Madrone berries start a pale yellow-green, and mature through orange to a deep red color. Berries often dominate the tree in a brilliant November display.
Madrone berries can change the color of the forest,as in this picture north from Mt. Tam, towards Bon Tempe Resevoir. |
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
