The Arbutus menziesii (commonly just called arbutus or madrone) is a tree of considerable beauty. Often found in dry, rocky areas exposed to the sea, it thrives where most other trees would perish from malnourishment, drought, and exposure to salt. It is a tough little bastard.
The twisted and crooked nature of its wood, however, make it unsuitable as lumber, and it has only limited use as veneer and, occasionally, firewood.
Thus, between the difficult terrain it inhabits and its general unsuitability for human ends, it is not a target for loggers, and enjoys a relatively unmolested existence in the pacific northwest. It has neither the fame, nor the ever-present peril, of its grander neighbors; the douglas fir, for example.
I feel a community of spirit with this tree.
