trailing arbutus

American  

[trey-ling ahr-byoo-tuhs] / ˈtreɪ lɪŋ ɑrˈbju təs /

noun

1. Also called mayflower.  Also called arbutus.  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.

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trailing arbutus British  

noun

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

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Etymology

Origin of trailing arbutus

First recorded in 1775–85

Example Sentences

“Epigea” refers to Epigaea repens, commonly known as trailing arbutus or mayflower: a low-growing shrub that produces clusters of pink flowers.

From Slate • May 17, 2016

By 1942, when Johnson retired, the first of Colby's new Georgian buildings blossomed amid the trailing arbutus on Mayflower Hill.

From Time Magazine Archive

So, too, "mayflower" is more suggestive than "trailing arbutus," and that than Epigæa repens.

From The Renewal of Life; How and When to Tell the Story to the Young by Morley, Margaret Warner

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

From Patchwork A Story of 'The Plain People' by Groce, Helen Mason

Let him compare our matchless, rosy-lipped, honey-hearted trailing arbutus with his own ugly ground-ivy; let him compare our sumptuous, fragrant pond-lily with his own odorless Nymphæa alba.

From A Year in the Fields by Burroughs, John