In searching for info about Canadian geese, I encountered this word. It is apparently some type of tree or bush.

The river's popularity is steadily growing as more and more visitors to Southern Oregon view the spectacular rapids and falls, and drink in the calm serenity of the still waters. Beautiful old-growth pines and twisted madrone grace the banks and deer graze in pastures bordering the water. Osprey fish for Chinook salmon while blue heron skim majestically along the sparkling waters. The Rogue River is the embodiment of the Oregon dream lifestyle, a relaxing haven away from the strife of modern city life. More often than not, visitors come for a week and stay for a lifetime. We here in Southern Oregon, invite you to do the same.

DESCRIPTION: This group consists of beautiful, evergreen trees or shrubs. They grow wild in North, South and Central America, Mexico, Asia Minor, southern Europe and the Canary Islands. They only grow from 10 to 20 feet high. A. andrachnoides is a hybrid small tree with attractive cinnamon-red branches that are covered with green leaves slightly edged with red. In late fall and early winter, waxy white, bell-shaped flowers are produced. A. menziesii (Madrone or Oregon Laurel is a medium-sized tree that occasionally reaches a height of 60 feet. Its reddish-brown bark peels in late summer to expose the fresh green bark underneath. Panicles of white flowers are produced in late spring and are followed by small, orange-yellow fruits

Dr. Bill - it is indeed a beautiful tree, the way the thin red bark peels back to reveal the pale mossy green underneath.

I've often wondered about the origin of its name. It sounds like a Spanish word and looks like an Italian word. My giant Spanish dictionary on my desk doesn't turn up anything for madrón, which would be the Spanish rendering of it. If it is a word, in Spanish or Italian, it would likely translate as something like "big mother," but it could be a corruption of madera (wood) as well, but I'm guessing.

Atomica gives:

An evergreen tree (Arbutus menziesii) native to Pacific North America, having leathery, glossy leaves, white urn-shaped flowers, and orange or red edible berries. The wood has been used for making furniture and the bark for tanning.

[American Spanish, from Spanish madroño, strawberry tree.]

The next obvious question is how does madroño come to mean strawberry tree?

(Aside: in Italian, you guess rightly that madrone would mean "big mother", though maybe it would have to be femminine (madrona). That's how I first read the title of the post, too. Interestingly, the words "madrina" and "padrino" mean - not literally a little mother and father - but figuratively so: godmother and godfather!)

Oh! A word I've heard of! A couple of years ago at an art fair, I bought a...carving, I guess...made from madrone. It came from Oregon (hi, Sweet Geoff!). It's amazing--it looks as though separate thin layers of warped wood have been stacked, then glued together here and there. But it looks like it just grew that way! The inside is hollowed out, and is smooth, so that it somewhat resembles a Cat-in-the-Hat hat. Could it be a knothole, or something, does anyone know? I can't imagine a big tree being able to withstand even light winds, if the layers really grow far apart like that.