madrone

American  

[muh-droh-nuh] / məˈdroʊ nə /

Also madrona,

noun

1. any of several evergreen trees belonging to the genus Arbutus, of the heath family, especially A. menziesii Pacific madrone of western North America, having red, flaky bark and bearing edible reddish berries.

2. the pale reddish-brown wood of this tree.

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Etymology

Origin of madrone

An Americanism dating back to 1835–45; from Latin American Spanish (Panama, Colombia), Spanish madroño “strawberry tree,” Mozarabic maṭroño; further origin uncertain

Compare meaning

How does madrone compare to similar and commonly confused words? Explore the most common comparisons:

• madrone vs. manzanita

Example Sentences

One afternoon in June, Mr. Smith surveyed the damage to his forest, stopping at a madrone he especially liked but whose odds weren’t good.

From New York Times • Jul. 18, 2021

We gazed through a window at the tops of oak and madrone trees growing on the slope.

From The New Yorker • May 20, 2019

Other long-lived Northwest plants also have been dying in unusual numbers in recent years, including bigleaf maple trees, Pacific madrone and Western red cedars.

From Seattle Times • Mar. 28, 2019

I love ponderosa pine, aspen, red alder, madrone, pinyon juniper, maple … each its own character, spirit and visual expression.

From Seattle Times • Oct. 4, 2018

Every fifty yards there was another card sticking on a bush, or hanging from the branches of a madrone, or tacked to the trunk of a buckeye, and all of them said, “Welcome Home.”

From "East of Eden" by John Steinbeck