TRAILING-ARBUTUS 



E-pigaea repens Linnaeus 



Trailing-arbutus is an evergreen plant, belonging to the Heath 

 Family, and occurs in rocky or sandy woods, especially under evergreen 

 trees. The flowering buds are formed before the arrival of the cold 

 of winter, and open with the first sunny days of spring. Hidden away 

 under dead leaves, and frequently with their pearly flowers turned to- 

 ward the earth, they are not discovered by the casual passer-by. 



It is frequently called mayflower in New England, and is the State 

 flower of Massachusetts. Bryant associates it with the earliest spring 

 flowers in his poem "The twenty-seventh of March." 



. . . within the woods 

 Tufts of ground laurel, creeping underneath 

 The leaves of the last summer, send their sweets 

 Up to the chilly air ... . 



while Whittier tells us of 



Sad Mayflower, watched by winter stars, 



And nursed by winter gales 

 With petals of the sleeted spars 



And leaves of frozen sails ! 



But warmer suns ere long shall bring 



To life the frozen sod, 

 And through dead leaves of hope shall spring 



Afresh the flowers of God. 



Trailing-arbutus, when furnished with proper acid soil and suitable 

 exposure, can be grown readily, and produces a fleshy, edible fruit. 



The specimen sketched was found in Washington, District of 

 Columbia, but the plant ranges from Florida,Kentucky, and Wisconsin 

 northward to Newfoundland and Saskatchewan. '■ 



PLATE 12.6 



