Arbutus andrachne, Eastern Strawberry tree,
جناء أحمر ,קטלב מצוי, Janà ahmar
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| | Scientific name: |
| Arbutus andrachne L. |
| Common name: |
| Eastern Strawberry tree |
| Hebrew name: |
| קטלב מצוי |
| Arabic name: |
| جناء أحمر, Janà ahmar |
| Family: |
| Ericaceae, אברשיים |
Date Picture Taken: March 28, 2008
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| | Life form: |
| Tree |
| Leaves: |
| Alternate, entire |
| Flowers: |
| White, hermaphrodite (have both male and female organs) |
| Flowering Period: |
| March, April |
| Habitat: |
| Mediterranean maquis and forest |
| Distribution: |
| Mediterranean Woodlands and Shrublands, Montane vegetation of Mt. Hermon |
| Chorotype, טיפוס התפוצה: |
| Mediterranean |
| Summer shedding: |
| Perenating |
Date Picture Taken: March 28, 2008
Derivation of the botanical name:
Arbutus, the strawberry tree.
andrachne, the Greek name for Arbutus andrachne
The standard author abbreviation L. is used to indicate Carl Linnaeus (1707 – 1778), a Swedish botanist, physician, and zoologist, the father of modern taxonomy.
Arbutus andrachne is one of the constituents of the "Common Oak Forest" in Israel.
Today Arbutus andrachne is known as a small shrub or small tree, but archeological evidence shows that specimens of a considerably greater stature, sufficient to provide structural building timber, are likely to have been avaiable in the past.
The Arbutus andrachne remains of a beam supporting the roof of the "Sunken Room" at Sidon, Lebanon, were grown c.1390-1120 BCE (Asouti, E. and Griffiths, D., the "Sunken Room" at Sidon (2003)).
The Gaullic bishop Arculf, who lived in Jerusalem from 679 to 688, describes the Arbutus andrachne as follows:
There was on the road a small tree bearing a fruit somewhat bigger than our largest cherries, and of the shape and taste of strawberries, but a little acid. It is pleasant to eat ; but, if a great quantity be eaten, it mounts to the head, and intoxicates. It is ripe in November and December.
Date Picture Taken: November 14, 2006
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