A beautiful tree sits on the north side of Little Chico Creek, shading the picnic table at site No. 34 in lower Bidwell Park. Its thick, smooth lower branches are perfect for climbing, and its form is both rounder and more symmetrical than its relatives at higher elevations.
And its occurrence at a low altitude (elevation 197 feet) is rare. Arbutus menziesii, a broadleaf evergreen hardwood tree, is best known as Pacific madrone. It is most often found along Puget Sound, and in the Oregon and California coast ranges; it is also scattered on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and Cascade mountain ranges.
Its favorite habitats in southwestern Oregon and Northern California are dry foothills, wooded slopes and canyons. In California, madrone grows best at elevations between 300 and 4,000 feet. If you’ve driven Highway 20 between Willits and the coast, you’ve seen these stately trees reaching above the coast redwood and mixed-evergreen forest canopy on the steeper slopes.
Capt. George Vancouver of the British Royal Navy commanded a voyage of exploration and diplomacy from 1791 to 1795 which circumnavigated the globe and made contact with five continents. Madrone’s species name honors the Scottish surgeon, botanist and naturalist, Archibald Menzies, who noted this tree during Vancouver’s voyage of exploration.
Menzies, who spent many years at sea serving with the Royal Navy and on private merchant ships, recognized its similarity to the European arbutus, A. unedo, whic.