A strawberry tree

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Lovely walk in the wild limestone massif of the Serra del Garraf just southwest of Barcelona. The strawberry trees (madroño in Spanish, arbocer/arboç in Catalan) were laden with fruit. They have a reputation of being a bit dull – their scientific name Arbutus unedo is Latin for  “I only eat one”) but these were sweet and tasty enough so I had about 30.

Popular knowledge has it that if you eat too many madroños you get drunk. The Portuguese have a prized madroño liquor (medronho) but I haven’t tried it yet.

A bear feeding on a strawberry tree is also the symbol of the city of Madrid.

They’re also known as arbustus trees in English.

Date palm in Barcelona

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Date palm, possibly the oldest in Barcelona, planted in 1873 in the Casa de l’Ardiaca  (Archdeacon) next to the cathedral.
In the late 19th century Spain, palms were very much associated with the “Indianos”, hardworking, often ruthless men who made their fortunes -one way or another- in the Indies. They form an essential part of the landscape of many coastal areas of Spain.