A doctor of anthropological sciences, Brian Richmond, PhD, builds and manages data infrastructure at Aura Health in San Francisco, California. Outside of work, Dr. Brian Richmond enjoys learning about the natural history of the West Coast.
The Pacific madrone is a native species characterized by shiny red peeling bark and takes its name from madroño, the Spanish word for strawberry tree. This reflects similarities between the distinct Pacific and Mediterranean arboreal species noticed by Father Crespi during the Portola Expedition of the late 18th century. A botanist and British naval surgeon Archibald Menzies named the tree, “Arbutus menziesii.”
A cousin of the manzanita shrub, the madrone can live 500 years and attain a height of 125 feet, although most specimens in gardens max out at 40 feet. An extreme example of a latitudinally ranging tree, the madrone’s range extends from Baja California to British Columbia. The madrone can endure a wide range of temperatures and rainfall conditions. A hardy species, the madrone sometimes inhabits rocky coastal outcrops as a dwarf shrub that grows a couple of inches a year.
In the San Francisco Bay Area, the madrone is common in coastal hills, where it shares habitat with the live oak and redwood. It is also found at mid-elevations of the Western Sierra among species such as incense cedar and black oak.
Brian Richmond 
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