Arbutus xalapensis K. Kunth
= A. texana
Texas madrone, madroño, amazaquitl, xoxocote
Location in Texas: C & W TX; common in W Travis Co.
Form: small tree, up to 30 ft. tall.
Flowers: Feb-Apr (white).
Fruits: peak fruiting in late Oct-Nov, fruits from Sept-Dec, and possibly in June.
Food
Fruits – tasting sweet like strawberries, they were eaten by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:345).
Material
Wood – used to make ladles and deer calls by the Mexican Kickapoo (Latorre and Latorre 1977:343).
ID
The smooth reddish bark (revealed by the darker bark peeling off) is an easy diagnostic of this species.
Experimentation
I have eaten the fresh ripe fruits numerous times. They are very delicious and are often produced plentifully.
The wood is very hard and dense.
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth in GBIF Secretariat (2022). GBIF Backbone Taxonomy. Checklist dataset https://doi.org/10.15468/39omei accessed via GBIF.org on 2023-05-07.
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by Mike Tilley (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by Mike Tilley (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by CK Kelly (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by bobnieman (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by bobnieman (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Arbutus xalapensis Kunth observed in United States of America by Jim Kingdon (licensed under http://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/)
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