General Plant Information (Edit)
Plant Habit: Shrub
Life cycle: Perennial
Sun Requirements: Partial or Dappled Shade
Water Preferences: Mesic
Minimum cold hardiness: Zone 3 -40 °C (-40 °F) to -37.2 °C (-35)
Maximum recommended zone: Zone 9a
Plant Height: 4 to 6 inches (10-15 cm)
Plant Spread: 18 to 24 inches (45-60 cm)
Leaves: Evergreen
Broadleaf
Flowers: Showy
Fragrant
Flower Color: Pink
White
Bloom Size: Under 1"
Flower Time: Spring
Uses: Groundcover
Miscellaneous: Endangered: Listed as "endangered" in Florida and "exploitably vulnerable" in New York.
Awards and Recognitions: Other: State Flower of Massachusetts, United States; Provincial Flower of Nova Scotia, Canada

Image
Common names
  • Trailing Arbutus
  • Mayflower
  • Ground Laurel

Photo Gallery
Location: Aberdeen, NC 
Date: March 23, 2023
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Aberdeen, NC 
Date: March 23, 2023
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Aberdeen, NC (Found along Aberdeen creek near Southern middle school)
Date: March 23, 2023
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Aberdeen, NC 
Date: March 22, 2023
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Southern Maine
Date: May 1 2023
Location: Southern Maine 
Date: 2022-04-24
Epigaea repens L. var. glabrifolia.  Mayflowers are now in bloom
Location: Southern Maine
Date: 2020-05-13
Location: Southern Maine
Date: 2022-04-24
Closeup of a Mayflower bloom in Southern Maine.
Location: Southern Pines, NC (Mill creek greenway along gas right if way area)
Date: May 18, 2023
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Aberdeen, NC (Along Aberdeen creek east of Southern middle)
Date: March 11, 2024
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Southern Maine
Date: 2024-04-24
There is a cluster of blossoms on this mayflower.
Location: Aberdeen, NC (Along Aberdeen creek east of Southern middle)
Date: March 11, 2024
Trailing Arbutus #401; RAB page 811, 145-15-1; LHB p. 764, 157-11
Location: Southern Maine
Date: 2023-04-24

Date: April
credit: John Cameron

Date: 2013-04-20
Location: Alpine Lake, West Virginia | May, 2023
Location: Douthat Park, VA (Near Bedford)

Photo courtesy of: Tom Potterfield
Location: Southern Maine
Date: 2025-04-24
Location: Fairfax, Virginia (Outdoors)
Bedford VA, at Douthat Park.
Location: Canada
Date: 2017-05-04
Location: Canada
Date: 2014-05-07
Location: My garden in N E Pa. 
Date: 2016-04-02
Location: Canada
Date: 2014-05-04
Comments:
  • Posted by robertduval14 (Milford, New Hampshire - Zone 5b) on Sep 24, 2016 7:50 AM concerning plant:
    The provincial flower of Nova Scotia. It is also the state flower of Massachusetts.
  • Posted by Bluespiral (Maryland - Zone 7b) on Mar 23, 2023 4:11 PM concerning plant:
    My late dh and I were walking along a woodland trail, just inside a field, and shafts of June light were hitting a carpet of trailing arbutus on the forest floor. What a surprise that those tiny, improbable flowers could produce such noticeable wafts of delicate fragrance at the altitude of our noses...lots of springs and creeks in the hills of that river system...one of my most treasured June memories.
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WebTucker On March 24, 2023 Bloomed
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Discussion Threads about this plant
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Six petals! by Paintedtrillium Apr 24, 2022 11:08 AM 0

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