HEATH FAMILY 



ERICACEAE 



THE Heath family, as now restricted by botan- 

 ists, includes a number of shrubby plants having 

 attractive flowers and for the most part blossom- 

 ing in early sprang. While technically the woody 

 stems of the Mayflower or Trailing Arbutus cause 

 it to be classed among the shrubs, rather than 

 among the herbaceous plants, the blossoms are so 

 generally prized as wild flowers that it seems de- 

 sirable to include a discussion of it in these pages. 



TRAILING ARBUTUS. The Mayflower or Trail- 

 ing Arbutus is familiar to everyone in New Eng- 

 land and many of the northern states. In 

 regions where it is abundant it is the one blossom 

 that is gathered by all, its delicate beauty charming 

 the eye as its delightful fragrance appeals to the 

 sense of smell. All winter the buds lie hidden 

 beneath the snowdrifts waiting to unclose: soon 

 after the white mantle on the southern slopes 

 becomes spotted with brown these buds begin to 

 open and become fully developed blossoms while 

 the snow still lingers on the northern slopes. 

 Then for a month the Arbutus is the Queen of 

 Spring, a lovely and modest queen withal, serenely 

 enduring many a storm of wind and rain. 



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