Arbutus unedo

The strawberry tree is a handsome broadleaf evergreen, a large shrub or small tree hung in fall and early winter with clusters of nodding, urn-shaped, pinkish-white flowers, just as the previous year's fruit ripens to warty, orange-red, strawberry-like globes. Flowers and fruit on the branches at once is the particular charm of Arbutus unedo, and the glossy leaves and shredding cinnamon bark hold interest year round.

The fruit is edible, if not exactly wonderful eaten fresh; the species name unedo comes from the Latin unum edo, I eat only one, an old joke at the fruit's expense. Cooked, the story changes: across the Mediterranean the berries become jams, jellies, and sweets, and in Portugal the famous fire-water medronho is distilled from them. A relative of the azaleas and blueberries, the strawberry tree happily breaks the family rule and grows without very acid soil.

Slow but durable, the strawberry tree suits a sunny to lightly shaded spot in well-drained soil, as a specimen, a screen, or the anchor of a Mediterranean or wildlife planting; the late flowers feed bees when little else blooms, and the fruit feeds birds. Drought tolerant once established, and one of the most ornamental evergreens for a warm, dry garden. Native to the Mediterranean and western Europe.