Found in Western Washington, but not sure if it’s actually native to the area.
by schoolaccount2023
Found in Western Washington, but not sure if it’s actually native to the area.
by schoolaccount2023
25 Comments
Strawberry tree. Yes, the fruits are edible. Slightly sweet.
Arbutus unedo, strawberry tree. Edible, but I don’t find them particularly pleasant. They taste kinda sweet but feel like baby food
Yeeeehh boooyyyy they are so good! Like eating somewhat sweet Velcro (I actually love them and will fight a bird for the good ones)
Thats a hybrid lemon orange raspberry tree 😉
strawberry tree, the fruits are good, but they must be very ripe, very dark red.
Yeah mock strawberry tree. Red ones are ripe.
Yes, they’re really good!
In Portugal we call it Medronho. A nice brandy can be made with it.
Arbutus unedo, false strawberry or corbezzolo. Native to the Mediterranean, and Italy’s national plant. The fruits don’t travel or store well but they make a lovely jam. I have some on my terrace but i’ve never had a crop like this.
Yes! They are so delicious imo, and nobody knows they’re edible so there’s always a bunch for me to munch on 🙏
IF it is actually a strawberry tree, no those are not actual strawberries, but yes they are edible and sweet. From personal experience.
All fruits are edible
Damn that’s the most bountiful strawberry tree I’ve ever seen
We had these at Redwood Middle School, nobody ate them.
Fun fact: they are in the same family as blue berries and Manzanita (Ericacaceae) you can see some of the bell-shaped flowers in the lower left of the photo.
Start with just one or two fruits and see how they suit you. I ate a few handfuls of these a couple of days ago and had hours of horrible nausea. I looked it up and these fruits can cause nausea particularly if they are not perfectly ripe. I have eaten just one or two at other times and was fine. The unedo in arbutus unedo means “eat one” so maybe that is advice.
They call Muntingia strawberry tree too. Dang common names.
The strawberry tree (Arbutus unedo) is an evergreen shrub or small tree native to the Mediterranean and Western Europe, known for its red, berry-like fruits that resemble strawberries but are not related to true strawberries. It thrives in full sun to part shade, prefers moist, well-drained soil, and is drought-tolerant once established. The tree produces both flowers and fruit simultaneously, with the fruit maturing to a bright red color.
Key Characteristics
Appearance: An evergreen shrub or small tree with reddish-brown bark and leathery leaves.
Fruit: Produces red, edible berries that are sweet and slightly tart, though they are not closely related to true strawberries.
Medronho! We make liquor, fire water, jam and cheesecake out of it in Portugal.
I thought it’s lychee, it looks similar
the many times i visited western Washington from tacoma. i had never seen those
They are called arbutus unedo because it comes from Latin: Arbutus (tree) uno solo edo (I eat only one) – because ripe fruit would fall on the floor and ferment and sheep or goats that eat it would get slightly intoxicated. I thought it was a funny story to share.
Looks delicious. Yes you can eat it.
Non-native Arbutus unedo. What a pity, planted right in the middle of Arbutus menziesii’s native range.
Anecdotally, the etymology of *unedo* is ‘I eat only one,’ likely in reference to the insipid fruit.