HEATH FAMILY. Ericaceas. 



- The Mayflower of New England, com- 



Arbutus mon on the borders of rocky woods and 



Epujcea repens hillsides, and blooming beside the rem- 

 White and pink nants of snow-drifts in early spring. It is 

 April-May common in the vicinity of evergreen 



woodlands. The light brown stems are shrubby and 

 tough, creeping close to the cold earth under decaj^ed 

 leaves and grasses ; they are rough-hairy. The old dull 

 light olive green leaves are more or less rusty-spotted ; 

 the sides spread angularly from the central depressed 

 rib. The new leaves develop in June. The surface is 

 rough and netted with fine veins ; beneath it is rough- 

 hairy and much lighter in color. The sweet-scented, 

 white or delicately pink-tinted flowers are five-lobed, 

 tubular, and possess a frosty sheen ; they are in general 

 trimorphous, that is, the stamens and styles are of three 

 relative and reciprocal lengths ; but commonly the 

 flowers are dimorphous — confined to staminate and pis- 

 tillate forms. The staminate blossoms contribute a 

 touch of light 3'ellow to tlie delicate surrounding of pure 

 pink and white. The commonest visitors are the early 

 queen bumblebees, Bombus pennsylvanicus, Bombiis 

 terricola, and Bombus bifarius. The flower is nectar 

 bearing. Branches 6-13 inches long. Me., south to 

 Fla., and west to Minn. 



The famihar Boxberry of the Middle 

 Wintergreen or • ii in 



Checkerberry ^t^tes, common in wildernesses and all 

 Guultheria evergreen woodlands. The broad, ovate, 

 procuinhens evergreen leaf is stiff, tliick, and shiny 

 ^*^'*® dark green, with few small teeth ortooth- 



u y- ugu \q^^^ and very nearly stemless. The 

 younger leaves are yellow-green ; all are clustered at 

 the top of the buff-brown or ruddy stem. The white, 

 waxy flowers are vase-shaped and nodding ; they grow 

 from the angles of the leaves. The dry but exceedingl}^ 

 aromatic berry is pure red (a deep cherry color), often 

 \ inch in diameter, and is formed of the calyx which 

 becomes fleshy, surrounds tlie seed-capsule, and has all 



330 



