Mayflower (Epigaea Regens) —Common Names:— Ground Laurel Trailing Arbutus Winter Pink   Mayflower is the state flower of Massachusetts. Buy state flowers

The Mayflower is a perennial evergreen shrub. It has ovate hairy leaves and fragrant, pink or white, spring-blooming flowers with five petals. It grows in woods, preferring sandy or rocky soil, under or near evergreens. This is one of the earliest spring flowering plants. The flower is also one of the most aromatic. It is reported that the Pilgrims named the Trailing Arbutus the "Mayflower" in remembrance of the ship that brought them to the coast of New England. An old English saying is that when the Mayflower blooms, it's time to "put away one's winter clothes and let thoughts rove happily ahead." Appropriately, the Mayflower was adopted as the official State Flower on May Day, May 1, 1918. Unfortunately, though, the flower is becoming rare and it has been on the endangered list since 1925. The plant is thought by some to be emblematic of "Struggle and Hope". The Trailing Arbutus means "Welcome". ********

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