Arbutus andrachne L.

Spreading, sometimes shrubby tree with smooth, peeling, red-brown bark and white flowers in erect panicles in spring, followed by spherical, warty, orange-red fruit, which ripen in the autumn of the following year.  To 6m by 6m.  [RHSE, Hortus, Hilliers’].

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘The most remarkable circumstance in this species is, that in the spring it sheds the old red bark, and the young bark is at first green, then turns whitish, and afterwards to different shades of brown, and finally, on the approach of winter, to a deep red.  It is sufficiently hardy to bear the cold of our ordinary winters without shelter, but is liable to be much defaced, and in severe frosts to be quite killed. […] Cultivated in Dr. Sherard’s garden at Eltham in 1724.’  [BM t.2024/1818].  BR f.113/1816.

History at Camden Park

Listed in all published catalogues [T.62/1843] but also obtained from Kew Gardens, brought out from England by Captain P. P. King in 1849.  Macarthur indicated that it was not new to the colony.  [ML A1980-3].  

Notes

Published Jan 04, 2009 - 10:16 AM | Last updated Mar 30, 2010 - 04:46 PM


The image shows a flowering shoot with leaves and tubular white flowers.  Taken from Curtis's Botanical Magazine, t.2024, 1818.

Arbutus andrachne L. | BM t.2024 | BHL

More details about Arbutus andrachne L.
Family Ericaceae
Category
Region of origin
Synonyms
Common Name

Grecian strawberry tree

Name in the Camden Park Record

Arbutus Andrachne - Oriental arbutus

Confidence level high