GameBanshee Forums

I know this is probably an odd topic, but hey, why not?

Anyway, I've always liked trees and wooded areas generally (Though I also love the desert), and there are some species of trees that I like in particular. We have recently moved, and much to my delight, there are a lot of Arbutus trees (also called Madrona Trees) in the general area. In fact, I can see several from my office window.

I'm not sure why I like the Arbutus tree so much, but I do. Maybe it is the vibrantly coloured bark in contrast to the gold tinted green of the leaves, or perhaps it is the way the twist as they grow. Regardless, they are my favourite tree.

Here is a little legend and lore too:
arbutus
Aboriginal people revere arbutus. In their fine guide, Plants of Coastal British Columbia, Jim Pojar and Andy MacKinnon tell us the Saanich used its bark and leaves as cold and stomach remedies, in a tuberculosis medicine and for contraception. The bark was also used to colour food. According to a Straits Salish legend, the survivors of a great flood tied their canoe to an arbutus atop Mount Newton near Sidney. To this day, as a mark of gratitude, the Saanich do not use arbutus as firewood. Victoria poet Richard Olafson's In Arbutus Light refers to another native legend, where the tree's "webbed roots hold the splintered earth together." If the arbutus should disappear, the myth warns-whether from fungal infection, habitat loss or some other cause-the planet would fly apart and be utterly destroyed.

Tree Book - Arbutus
My Favorite Tree - Arbutus Arts (er... please ignore the bad poetry on this page, I mostly posted it because of the images )
dsc_0006 pictures from pacific northwest photos on webshots

Anyway, after rambling on, I'm wondering if anybody else here especially likes a certain type of tree, and if you know of any lore surrounding the species, please post that too.

in a tuberculosis medicine...

I bet it worked really well to keep those lungs from filling up with blood.

Still, it looks like a nice tree. Can't say I've seen many, of any at all, in the US places where I've lived. Our current region is heavy in oaks, maples, cedars, and elms, making quite a nice effect in the autumn. Our home, though, sits on one of those ubiquitous modern lots where they napalmed all the flora before building, so everything else had to be added later. There's one good tree here, and we purchased another four--3 different kinds of maples and a Newport plum--a couple of months ago.

Are the arbutus that common around you? To tell the truth, this is the first I've ever heard of them.

fable wrote:in a tuberculosis medicine...

I bet it worked really well to keep those lungs from filling up with blood.

Still, it looks like a nice tree. Can't say I've seen many, of any at all, in the US places where I've lived. Our current region is heavy in oaks, maples, cedars, and elms, making quite a nice effect in the autumn. Our home, though, sits on one of those ubiquitous modern lots where they napalmed all the flora before building, so everything else had to be added later. There's one good tree here, and we purchased another four--3 different kinds of maples and a Newport plum--a couple of months ago.

Are the arbutus that common around you? To tell the truth, this is the first I've ever heard of them.

lol! Well I know absolutely nothing about First Nations medicine, but what I wondered about even more was the use for contraception... I'd never heard about that before. I suppose, though, it could be similar to the use of black and blue cohosh.

Yes.. I know what you mean about modern lots. While the developers of the little subdivision we've moved into have left all the trees around the building area (it is sort of their trademark to be as "green" as possible), the lots themselves have been cleared, and we too are thinking of planting a fruit tree or two. At least, however, a lot of thought has been put into the homes themselves; they've been built in a design that evokes the Victorian period, and they are nicely done too. So.. all round, it feels much less as though we are living in a suburban moonscape.

Anyway, in terms of the Arbutus, they are actually quite rare. They only grow within about 8 km of the ocean, they don't like shade, and you see them a lot around sunny, rocky outcrops and similar terrain. I believe that in Canada they only grow in certain sections of the southern West Coast.

Nice looking trees...
But have to say that none of this type are around my place...
I own 10 acres of woods, maples, cedars, elms, oaks, holly and numerous varieties of pines, plus a few I have no idea what they are..
I try to keep my place as natural as possible, only the acre or so that the house is on, do I do any work on....
I tell people that if pizza delivery or cell phones ever work here, it will be time to move further back in the forest.....:laugh:
I really enjoy being off the known path..

My favorite five are: Sycamore, White Oak, Hemlock, Yellow Poplar (also known as the Tulip tree), and Black Walnut. I've got to through Sugar Maple in there as well.

Have we really nothing else to do to be discussing about trees? :laugh:

I like the dogwood trees we have here in the southern piedmont. I used to be a hiker, and April would be a good time to hike around here, because the woods would be filled with these white flowering trees.

Image:IMG 1527Dogwood.jpg - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Just saw this; the Arbutus looks really nice. I really like forresty areas, though I'm pretty sure you can't find those where I live...


@Bluesky: that's really neat, must be nice.