ARBUTUS, in botany, a genus of the decandria monogynia class. The calix of the arbutus is divided into five parts; the corolla is ovated; the fruit is a berry with five partitions or cells. There are five species of arbutus, viz. the unedo, or common strawberry-tree, a native of Britain; the andrachne, a native of the East Indies; the acadiensis, a native of Acadia; the alpina, or mountain strawberry-tree, a native of Britain; and the uva ursi, a plant lately discovered in the Highlands of Scotland, and which formerly was thought not to be a native of Britain.