EPIGOEA REPENS-GROUND LAUREL, 



CLASS, DODECANDRIA ; ORDER, MONOGYNIA. 

 NATURAL ORDER, ERICACEAE. 



GEN. CHAR. Calyx, double, outer three leaved, inner five part- 

 ed. Corol, salver form ; border five parted, spreading ; tube villose 

 within. Capsule, five celled, many seeded. Receptacle, five parted. 

 SPEC. CHAR. Stem, creeping. Branches and petioles, very hirsute. 

 Leaves, cordate ovate, entire. Corol, cylindric. 



This was formerly known as the Trailing Arbutus ; it was long 

 called such, but latterly, modern botanists have followed the popu- 

 lar name, which, from its resemblance to the Laurel, is certainly a 

 more appropriate appellation. It has a woody stem which though 

 not sufficiently strong to stand erect, is yet proud enough to keep 

 aloof from the common juicy vegetables, and claims affinity with its 

 more highly favored hard hearted brethren. It generally frequents 

 rocky woods, where it can easily be distinguished by its trailing 

 appearance and the extraordinary quantity of hair that covers it 

 on every part. The leaves are alternately placed with great regu- 

 larity, oblong and heart shaped, at the base. The buds appear in 

 early spring and bloom in April, continuing open sometimes to 

 the end of May ; the flowers vary from a pure white to a delicate 

 flesh color, deepening on this latter ground to a rosy and often de- 

 cidedly purple tint, depending somewhat on its situation with 

 regard to shade. They are beautifully arranged in terminal or 



