PNW Native
Madrona ranges along the West Coast of North America from British Columbia through California. (3)
Madrona is easily identifiable due to its unique bark that peels off in thin, russet brown, paperlike layers revealing a smooth golden-to-chartreuse hardwood inner bark. It is also a rare non-coniferous evergreen tree. Madrone (Madrona) grows to a height of up to 30 m/100 ft. Leaves are alternate, large, up to 3 in/15 cm long, apical surfaces are dark green with white undersides. Flowers are urnlike and white in large drooping clusters with orange-red berries. Madrona prefers dry, rocky soils with good drainage and sunlight at low-middle elevations. (1)
Madrona is pollinated by bees and potentially hummingbirds, its seeds are eaten widely and dispersed by birds, rodents, mule deer, and environmental conditions, namely wind and gravity. (3) Madrone is one of two broadleaf evergreen in the PNW region, the other being Chinquapin. Its growth is associated with stands of Douglas-fir and Garry oak. (1) Along the west coast, madrone grows densest in the fire-prone Klamath region where it readily regrows from roots that survive fires. Madrona has been plagued by a leaf blight since 2011. (2)
Madrona leaves were used as an appetite suppressant by Northwest Coast People during hunting and traveling expeditions. Leaves and bark were harvested from living trees by the Straits Salish for medicinal purposes. (4) The bulb-shaped roots were used to carve eating utensils. Leaves were used medicinally; madrona berries were eaten, and either eaten raw, steamed, or preserved through the process of boiling then drying. (3) Camas bulbs were cooked with madrona bark or red alder bark to stain the bulbs pink, which was done by the Straits Salish. The Saanich used madrone bark and leaves to make medicines for colds, tuberculosis, stomach issues, and as a contraceptive. Chief Phillip Paul of the Straits Salish tribe told a legend that the madrona tree was used as a canoe anchor during the Great Flood, which is a reoccurring event in Northwest Coast People’s folklore and oral history. The Saanich tribe still will not burn madrona to this day as an act of respect and gratitude. (1)
Madrona is a valued ornamental, with trees cultivated for landscaping purposes in Europe and North America due to its striking, crooked growth habit, colorful, flaking bark, and aesthetic fruits and flowers. It has value as a bee-attracting pollinator. The tree has been used for commercial leather tanning and the production of charcoal for gunpowder in the past. (1)
