Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Epigaea repens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Trailing Arbutus at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Epigaea repens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Epigaea repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-15-001:
Epigaea repens FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Epigaea repens
COMMON NAME:
Trailing Arbutus, Mayflower
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_epre2_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_epre2_003_lhd
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Will Stuart wil_epigaea_repens_0506
February Chesterfield SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Blossoms can be numerous. — Will Stuart
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Will Stuart wil_epigaea_repens_0540
February Chesterfield SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Early and fragrant, attracting native bees like Southeastern Blueberry Bee. — Will Stuart
)
JK Marlow jkm0503a_11
March Greenville County SC
Paris Mountain State Park
The ovate leathery dull-green leaves are blunt-tipped, per Describing Botanical Architecture. Chinquapin (Ellison, 2012).
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Keith Bradley kab_epigaea_repens_1843
March Pickens County SC
Table Rock State Park
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_epigaea_repens_2
March
The small clusters of fragrant flowers are often concealed under the leaves, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
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Will Stuart wil_epigaea_repens_0061
March Chesterfield SC
Carolina Sandhills National Wildlife Refuge
Grows in masses in well-managed longleaf tracts in Carolina Sandhills NWR. — Will Stuart
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JK Marlow jkm0404g_25
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
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Keith Bradley kab_epigaea_repens_2301
April Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
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JK Marlow jkm190704_9746
July Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
Ovate to oblong, leathery leaves on creeping reddish-brown stems , per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Epigaea repens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Epigaea repens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Epigaea repens
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-15-001:
Epigaea repens
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Epigaea repens
513
Shrub; Subshrub
Perennial
Habitat: In a wide variety of acidic forests, xeric to mesic, sandy, rocky, and loamy, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon GA Piedmont & SC Coastal Plain)
Click here to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring
Pink/White
Bisexual or unisexual
Radially symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed salverform corolla
10 included stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Spring/Summer
Berry
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p012
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p162
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p113
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p198
- Wildflowers of the Atlantic Southeast (Cotterman, Waitt, & Weakley, 2019) p118
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p184
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p167
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p097
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p368
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p134
- Wildflowers of the Southern Mountains (Smith, 1998) p119
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p055