Islands of Ireland: Kerry's Arbutus Island came in for high praise from romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelly

The island is named for the 'strawberry tree' which grows in Cork, Kerry and Sligo as well as the Mediterranean

Arbutus Island, County Kerry. Picture: Dan MacCarthy

Its luscious red fruit is golfball-sized and hangs invitingly from its branches. This Mediterranean tree, Arbutus unedo, otherwise known as the strawberry tree or caithne, can also be found mainly in two Irish counties: Sligo and Kerry, with patches of the low-sized tree occurring in Glengarriff and elsewhere on the Beara Peninsula.

Native to the Mediterranean region and western Europe north to western France and Ireland. Strawberry tree /  strawberry arbutus / arbutus unedo