trailing arbutus

[ trey-ling ahr-byoo-tuhs ]

noun
  1. Also called arbutus, mayflower . a creeping eastern North American plant, Epigaea repens, of the heath family, having leathery, oval leaves and terminal clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers: the state flower of Massachusetts.

Origin of trailing arbutus

1
First recorded in 1775–85

Words Nearby trailing arbutus

Dictionary.com Unabridged Based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2024

How to use trailing arbutus in a sentence

  • She lifted a small cluster of trailing arbutus and gave it to David.

    Patchwork | Anna Balmer Myers
  • Little girls were not allowed to invade the grove except in early spring for trailing arbutus.

    Still Jim | Honor Willsie Morrow
  • The trailing arbutus or may-flower of N. America, a plant with fragrant and beautiful blossoms, is Epiga repens, of the same nat.

  • She was literally a bower of trailing arbutus, as sprays of that spring flower were fastened all over her gown.

  • The trailing arbutus gave out delicate pink blossoms, and the south wind blew apart the petals of the anemone.

    A Cumberland Vendetta | John Fox, Jr.

British Dictionary definitions for trailing arbutus

trailing arbutus

noun
  1. a creeping evergreen ericaceous plant, Epigaea repens, of E North America, having clusters of fragrant pink or white flowers: Also called: mayflower

Collins English Dictionary - Complete & Unabridged 2012 Digital Edition © William Collins Sons & Co. Ltd. 1979, 1986 © HarperCollins Publishers 1998, 2000, 2003, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2012