This is one of the earliest and most aromatic of the spring wildflowers. The Puritans named the Trailing Arbutus the "Mayflower" in remembrance of the ship that carried them to the bleak coast of New England after a long and severe winter. Trailing arbutus is difficult to start and once gone, it is likely gone forever because it rarely produces fruits, it's seeds are dispersed by ants, and it requires a certain type of fungus to grow with its root system or it will not establish. Trailing Arbutus is virtually impossible to transplant.
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