A FAVORITE WILDFLOWER 



By Dr. W. Bailey. 



T*T /"HILE in a general way we recognize trailing arbutus as 

 ^ ^ a spring flower, we cannot fairly refer it to any par- 

 ticular spring month. Its annual appearance depends upon wider 

 and more definite views of environment. Its natural range is 

 from Newfoundland to the far Northwest and southward 

 to Florida, though in its farthest southern range it is usually 

 found only in hilly districts. Of course, then, the latitude and 

 climate will prove important factors in the time of its appear- 

 ance. To take an example, it would naturally be found earlier 

 in New York than in Maine or the Maritime Provinces of 

 Canada. Then, too, our seasons vary astonishingly from year 

 to year, and while it might present itself in Rhode Island at 

 one time in March, it more commonly waits till April and has 

 no certain engagement even then. Every plant lover knows 

 that early spring flowers are most capricious in their annual 

 appearance, but by the middle of May the species bloom 

 according to established schedule. 



''Mayflower," then is, often a misnomer; in Nova Scotia, 

 where it used to be graven on some of the small coins antece- 

 dent to the Dominion, the title is more appropriate. In 

 southern New England it is usually in advanced bloom or even 

 out of flower by May. I do not say ''in fruit" as it rarely 

 indulges in that m^ethod of propagation, relying rather upon 

 its trails. Observation will reveal, too, a tendency to a sepa- 

 ration of the sexes. Some flowers of the species are perfect. 



