Working with Pacific Madrone

The British call it arbutus, the Spanish madroña, and here in Oregon, it is called madrone or madrona. Pacific madrone grows from British Columbia, Canada, down to Southern California along the coastal range. Madrone is a sacred tree to indigenous peoples of the area, symbolizing knowledge, strength, inclusion, and safety. Its webbed roots are said “to hold the splintered world together.” It is a unique tree, a flowering broadleaf evergreen. Its berries were used for medicine and food. Its trunk always feels cool to the touch because its bark, which continuously peels, contains water.