Arbutus andrachne L. (Ericaceae) Cyprus Strawberry Tree or Eastern Strawberry Tree Native of the E. Mediterranean from S. Albania and Greece to Turkey and the Crimea on the Black Sea, south to Lebanon, and east to N. Iraq, up to 800 m, flowering in March to May with fruit ripening in autumn. It grows on limestone, serpentine and igneous rocks in areas which are very dry in summer. The leaves are toothed only on young plants; the mature bark is smooth, red or purplish, peeling off in patches. It is usually an evergreen shrub, but can make a small tree up to 6 m. Rare in cultivation, though it should be as hardy as A. unedo; fresh seed germinates freely but I have found young plants liable to damp off, and very slow-growing. Hardy to -15°C, perhaps. Z8.