The strawberry tree, Arbutus unedo, is showing its distinctive fruits in the Gilbert Carter Woodland.
Arbutus unedo is an evergreen shrub within the Ericaceae (heather) family. It is one of very few members of this acid-loving family that we can grow here in Cambridge on our alkaline soils. Growing to 12m in height, either as a tree or a shrub, A. unedo is a native of the Mediterranean and of south west Ireland. In its native range it grows in shrublands, scrub, open woodland and rocky slopes, on alkaline and acidic soils, and is well suited to the dry, temperate conditions here in the Garden. The drooping panicles of creamy-white, pitcher-shaped flowers are pollinated by bees. Globose fruits resemble strawberries, and have an orange base colouring speckled with wart-like, red protrusions, and these are a favourite autumn food for birds. The genus contains approximately 12 species in western North America and around the Mediterranean basin.