Parque Nacional Garajonay

Canary Islands Strawberry tree (Arbutus canariensis)

This relative of the strawberry tree of the Arbutus unedo lives only in the Canaries. Depending on the substrate on which it lives, its stature can be anywhere from shrub-like, in fissures of rock, up to close to ten metres on flat land. The red-orange colour of its smooth trunk, its fleshy fruits, as well as the lanceolate leaves with the saw-edge make the plant unmistakeable.  Among the scarce populations of the island, those that are to be found in the Park are on rocks, with one of the best in the Canary Islands being on the Roque Blanco, in the basin of Vallehermoso. The orange-coloured fruit are edible. Flowering: February-March