Wikimedia Commons
Ericaceae
Trailing Arbutus
Epigaea repens
Welcome, Pilgrim's hope, hidden sweetness.
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Genus
- Epigaea
- Native to
- Eastern North America
- Bloom season
- Early-Spring
- Type
- Evergreen ground cover
- Height
- 5–15 cm (2–6 in)
- Sunlight
- Part shade
- Soil
- Acidic, sandy, moist
- Water
- Moderate
- Hardiness
- 2–7
- Lifespan
- Long-lived perennial
Did you know
- Trailing arbutus is the state flower of Massachusetts and the floral symbol of Nova Scotia—it's the famous 'Mayflower' that the Pilgrims supposedly saw and rejoiced over after their first New England winter.
- The waxy pink flowers hide beneath leathery evergreen leaves and at the base of the plant—visitors must literally get on their knees and lift the leaves to see them.
- The fragrance is one of the most beautiful in the spring forest: a delicate sweet honey scent that perfumes pine woods in March and April, often before any other flower has appeared.
- Trailing arbutus is famously almost impossible to transplant or grow from seed—it requires a symbiotic relationship with specific soil fungi that don't survive disturbance.
- Once abundant from Newfoundland to the southern Appalachians, the plant has been so collected and disturbed that it's now legally protected in many states; picking is illegal in most of New England.
Color meanings
0
welcome
1
Pilgrim's hope
2
hidden sweetness