Re: Arbutus unedo wrong information

Arbutus unedo is a very common shrub on the Princes' Islands off the coast from Istanbul. They sometimes grow fairly near sea level but not right close to the water, preferring the higher slopes and especially open areas -- they grow right in among the garrigue. Local people call it "kocayemiþ" (ko-JA-ye-mish), which means roughly "big berry," and they make a marmelade out of it which is pretty nice as they add lemon juice which counteracts the otherwise rather bland taste of the fruit. Usually they run it through a sieve to get out most of the seeds and grains that comprise the surface, but I have also tasted kocayemis jam where they left it all in -- not my favorite local specialty. :)

On the subject of local shrubs that are commonly used in landscapes and also have edible fruit, the Cherry Laurel is known in the Black Sea region as "karayemiþ" (black berry, not the same as blackberry which is "böðürtlen" here), and it is pretty much the "national fruit" there. I seem to have read that the fruit is poisonous but I ate it all the time in Seattle. Since it's been selected in the US for looks rather than fruit quality, it's very variable, some trees' fruit is nice while other trees bear very astringent fruit. Don't eat the seeds though. In the Black Sea region, there are some varieties of Cherry Laurel with very large fruits, nearly the size of a bing cherry. The wild fruit is fairly astringent but they like it anyway, and some people make a nice jam of it as well.

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