Firetree
Morella faya
Family · Myricaceae · Harmless
The tree of Macaronesian laurel forest that also grows wild in the northwestern Peninsula, in one of those distribution jumps nobody expects. It bears red then black fruits that are eaten.
Uplands · Oak woods · Streams and ditches
Also known asfire tree, faya
How to tell it
Elongated, leathery, dark glossy leaves with a slightly wavy or sparsely toothed margin, and resinous dots beneath. Small warty fruits clustered along the branch, turning from red to black.
What it is confused with
Strawberry tree
Arbutus unedo
Both leathery-leaved with red fruit. Strawberry tree has a large bumpy fruit, solitary on a stalk; firetree has small warty fruits, many clustered along the branch.
Open sheet →What it is for
The ripe fruits are eaten, sour and with little flesh, and made liqueur in the Azores and Madeira. The wood is hard and good firewood. An important note elsewhere: in Hawaii it is one of the world's worst invaders, introduced by Azorean settlers.
Traditionally used as food. This is not permission to eat it.