Abstract Detail

Nº613/1009 - Is Arbutus unedo L. native to Ireland, or was it brought from the Iberian peninsula by Bronze Age copper miners?
Format: ORAL
Authors
Micheline Sheehy Skeffington,1 Nick Scott2
Affiliations
1 University of Galway, Galway, Ireland 2 Teach na Tuisceana, Galway, Ireland
Abstract
Arbutus unedo, Strawberry Tree, is a small tree occurring widely in central and western Mediterranean regions. It is also found along the Atlantic seaboard, northwards along western France. It is not considered native in Britain, but is in Ireland, where it is virtually confined to the south-west. However, this species could not have survived the last ice age in Ireland and migration northwards leaving such a large gap appears unlikely. Its Mediterranean ecological traits are not adapted to Ireland: it both flowers and fruits in early winter; it is unable to grow on wet soils and is intolerant of shade or grazing, so that it is now confined to cliffs, islands and rocky outcrops. The region around Killarney, Co. Kerry in SW Ireland, supports at least 2,000 individuals of A. unedo, or >80% of the total known trees in Ireland. It is here that both a palynological investigation and an archaeological excavation date the first fossil occurrence of the species in Ireland to be around 4,000 – 4,300 BP. The archaeological excavation, on Ross Island, Lough Leane, was of the first Bronze Age copper mine to be exploited in NW Europe. Using the Botanical Society of Britain & Ireland database, old records and field work, we mapped the distribution of A. unedo in Ireland and found a striking association with the occurrence of Bronze Age copper mines. We suggest A. unedo was brought by copper miners to Lough Leane from northern Spain, where three copper mines were worked from 4,800 to 4.300 BP, and that it flourished and later spread to other copper mines in SW Ireland, favoured by the extensive forest coppicing associated with the mining and its ability to produce multiple stems from an underground lignotuber. Such an introduction is supported by Irish mythical stories.