Discover the unique beauty of the Arbutus xalapensis, also famously known as the Texas Madrone. This enchanting species of flowering plant from the heather family flourishes in Central America, in the southwestern United States, specifically western Texas and New Mexico, and throughout Mexico. The Texas Madrone adorns canyons and mountains, thrives on rocky plains, and seamlessly merges in oak woodlands. This versatile plant can be found at high altitudes up to 10,000 feet in the southern range and lower altitudes around 1800 feet in the northern range. Texas madrone is listed as an endangered species by the Texas
Organization for Endangered Species
The Texas Madrone holds its charm as a large shrub or can also be seen as a small to medium-sized evergreen tree. It rises to a majestic height of 17-84 feet, possessing a trunk that measures up to 20 inches in diameter and swathed in vibrant, orange-brown bark that peels in thin sheets. Size vary with rainfall, ranging from shrubby plants in drier regions like western Texas and New Mexico to larger entities in moisture-rich Mexican terrains.
The leaves, oblong to lanceolate in shape, range from 2.0-6.8 inches long and 0.6-2.0 inches wide, with each margin exquisite in its entirety or serration. The frgrant flowers, forming loose panicles, are captivating bell-shaped structures that tint in shades of white or pale pink and are 5-10mm long. The fruit is a rough-textured, red berry 1cm in diameter, believed to be edible and filled with numerous petite seeds. Unearth the wonders of the Arbutus xalapensis, the Texas Madrone.
