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Arbutus texana

Common name:	Texas Madrone	Family:	Ericaceae
Author:	Buckley.	Botanical references:	11, 82, 200
Synonyms:	Arbutus xalapensis (non Kunth.)
Known Hazards:	None known
Range:	South-western N. America - Texas to New Mexico and south to Mexico.
Habitat:	Dry limestone hills[82]. Chaparral and somewhat humid oak forests[181].
Edibility Rating (1-5):	2	Medicinal Rating (1-5):	1

Other Possible Synonyms:	From various places across the web, may not be correct. See below.
	A. xalapensis var. texana[B,P]
Other Common Names:	From various places around the Web, may not be correct. See below.
	Texas Madrone [FEIS,B,L,P],
Systematics:	From a USDA Plants Database
	Order: Ericales. Heath family

Physical Characteristics

An evergreen tree growing to 8m at a slow rate. It is hardy to zone 8. It is in leaf all year, in flower in March, and the seeds ripen in August. The flowers are hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) and are pollinated by Bees. The plant is self-fertile. We rate it 2/5 for edibility and 1/5 for medicinal use.

The plant prefers light (sandy) and medium (loamy) soils and requires well-drained soil. The plant prefers acid soils. It can grow in semi-shade (light woodland) or no shade. It requires dry or moist soil.

Habitats and Possible Locations

Woodland, Secondary, Sunny Edge, Dappled Shade.

Edible Uses

Fruit.

Fruit - raw or cooked. A sweetish taste[149], the fruit has a dry mealy flesh[181]. It has narcotic properties[181]. The fruit is up to 1cm in diameter[229].

Medicinal Uses

Disclaimer

Astringent.

The bitter principles in the bark and leaves can be used as an astringent[229].

Other Uses

Charcoal; Fuel; Wood.

Wood - heavy, hard, close grained. Used for small tools, mathematical instruments, rollers etc[82, 149]. It is a good fuel and also produces a fine grade of charcoal[149, 229].

Cultivation details

Requires a lime-free nutrient-rich well-drained moisture-retentive soil in sun or semi-shade and shelter from cold drying winds, especially when young[200]. Succeeds on dry soils[82].
This species is unlikely to be hardy in the colder areas of the country, it probably tolerates temperatures down to between -5 and -10°c[200].
There is some confusion over the name of this plant, some books suggest that A texana is a synonym of A xalapensis. HBK. whilst others say that A texana exists in its own right and has a synonym of A. xalapensis. non HBK[11, 149, 200]. A. texana is very closely related to A. xalapense and is considered by many botanists to be indistinguishable from that species[274].

Propagation

Seed - best surface sown in a cold frame as soon as it is ripe. Stored seed should be soaked for 5 - 6 days in warm water and then surface sown in a shady position in a greenhouse[78]. Do not allow the compost to become dry. 6 weeks cold stratification helps[134]. The seed usually germinates well in 2 - 3 months at 20°c[134]. Seedlings are prone to damp off[184], they are best transplanted to individual pots as soon as they are large enough to handle and should be kept well ventilated. Grow them on in a greenhouse for their first winter and then plant out in late spring after the last expected frosts[K].
Basal cuttings in late winter[200].
Cuttings of mature wood of the current season's growth, November/December in a frame. Poor percentage[78].
Layering of young wood - can take 2 years[1, 200].

Suppliers

For more details of plant suppliers please see our Suppliers Page which lists many more places to look.

Web References

[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.
[HP] Links, Photos, Suppliers from Hortiplex Plant Database
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.
[FEIS] Data (Uses, Ecology, Fire Effects) from the USDA Forestry Service Fire Effects Information System.

References for Arbutus xalapensis (a possible synonym).

[V] Images from the Vascular Plant Image Gallery of the Texas A&M Bioinformatics Working Group.
[B] Data (Latin & Common names, other references) from the BONAP's Synonymized Checklist of the Vascular Flora of the United States, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands.
[G] Data (Common Names, Uses, Distribution) from the USDA/ARS NPGS's GRIN taxonomic database.
[P] Data. (uses, distribution, wetland) from the USDA'a Plants database.

References for the family Ericaceae.

[CHINA] Draft Data for parts of family Very detailed botanical/identification info. from the Flora of China.

See the PFAF Links Pages for other sources.

Also try Photos and info from the The Plants Database which has 14,000 images.

References

[K] Ken Fern
Notes from observations, tasting etc at Plants For A Future and on field trips.

[1] F. Chittendon. RHS Dictionary of Plants plus Supplement. 1956 Oxford University Press 1951
Comprehensive listing of species and how to grow them. Somewhat outdated, it has been replaces in 1992 by a new dictionary (see [200]).

[11] Bean. W. Trees and Shrubs Hardy in Great Britain. Vol 1 - 4 and Supplement. Murray 1981
A classic with a wealth of information on the plants, but poor on pictures.

[78] Sheat. W. G. Propagation of Trees, Shrubs and Conifers. MacMillan and Co 1948
A bit dated but a good book on propagation techniques with specific details for a wide range of plants.

[82] Sargent. C. S. Manual of the Trees of N. America. Dover Publications Inc. New York. 1965 ISBN 0-486-20278-X
Two volumes, a comprehensive listing of N. American trees though a bit out of date now. Good details on habitats, some details on plant uses. Not really for the casual reader.

[134] Rice. G. (Editor) Growing from Seed. Volume 2. Thompson and Morgan. 1988
Very readable magazine with lots of information on propagation. An interesting article on Ensete ventricosum.

[149] Vines. R. A. Trees of Central Texas. University of Texas Press 1987 ISBN 0-292-78958-3
Fairly readable, it gives details of habitats and some of the uses of trees growing in Texas.

[181] Pesman. M. W. Meet Flora Mexicana. Dale S. King. Arizona. 1962
Very readable flora but rather lacking botanically. A few notes on useful plants.

[184] Phillips. R. & Rix. M. Shrubs. Pan Books 1989 ISBN 0-330-30258-2
Excellent photographs and a terse description of 1900 species and cultivars.

[200] Huxley. A. The New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. 1992. MacMillan Press 1992 ISBN 0-333-47494-5
Excellent and very comprehensive, though it contains a number of silly mistakes. Readable yet also very detailed.

[229] Elias. T. The Complete Trees of N. America. Field Guide and Natural History. Van Nostrand Reinhold Co. 1980 ISBN 0442238622
A very good concise guide. Gives habitats, good descriptions, maps showing distribution and a few of the uses. It also includes the many shrubs that occasionally reach tree proportions.

Readers Comments

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Plant information taken from the Plants For A Future - Species Database. Copyright (c) 1997-2003.
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