Arbutus unedo

STRAWBERRY TREE

Carl Linnaeus first describes Arbutus unedo in his book Species Plantarum in 1753. This tree produces edible fruits that can be used to make jellies and jams. In Albania the fruit is fermented and used to make a type of schnapps. The Arbutus unedo is native to the Mediterranean basin as well as southern Ireland. The latter may be due in part to the warm microclimate created by an offshoot of the warm Gulf Stream waters that pass by southern and western Ireland.

Although theories exist, the facts of how it came to grow in southern Ireland are unknown. However, under certain circumstances when a species can self-propagate for hundreds or even thousands of years a "native" designation can sometimes be applied, if consensus allows.

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