Other common names:
Creeping Mayflower, Mayflower French names:
Épigée rampante Family: Heath Family (Ericaceae) Distinctive features: Sub-Shrub; Leathery leaves on a ground-hugging plant in the forest. Flowers: Spring; White; 5 parts (petals); White or pink. Early summer. Leaves: Alternate, Simple, Entire; Alternate, oval. Rounded or pointed at the ends. Hairy. Height:
A trailing, ground-loving plant. Habitat: Forests; Forest. Books: Peterson's Field Guide to Wildflowers: 38, 236 ROM Field Guide to Wildflowers of Ontario: 252 Shrubs of Ontario: 373 Newcomb's Wildflower Guide: 198 Native/Non-native:
Native Status:
Common in Ontario. Rare in some other places.
Notes:
Provincial flower of Nova Scotia.
Origin and Meaning of Names:
Scientific Name: : trailing For more information visit: Ontario Wildflowers Photographs:
126 photographs available, of which 6 are featured on this page. SCROLL DOWN FOR PHOTOGRAPHS.
Range Map is at the bottom of the page
Trailing Arbutus does not immediately look like a shrub. It is one of the "subshrubs". It likes to trail along the forest floor.
It can also be found growing in moss.
Leaf closeup.
Sometimes, later in the summer, or early in the fall, its leaves may look a bit worse for wear.
Here's some fresh leaves growing up from a bunch of dead ones.
Another plant. Note the leaves are often pointed at the tip, but sometimes are more rounded. Although it is fairly common in Ontario, Trailing Arbutus is rare in some areas.
PLEASE NOTE: A coloured Province or State means this species occurs somewhere in that Province/State.
The entire Province/State is coloured, regardless of where in that Province/State it occurs.
(Range map provided courtesy of the USDA website
and is displayed here in accordance with their
Policies)
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