ARBUTUS, TRAILING (Epigaea repens), a fragrant, flowering plant of the heath family (Ericaceae), also called may flower, common in rocky woods and on hillsides from Maine to Florida and westward to Minnesota. It appears as early as April, while the snow still lingers, and is eagerly sought as one of the first signs of spring; in regions near towns it is often stripped from the woods by ruthless persons and also sold on street corners. The plant stems are tough and sturdy, rough-hairy, and creep close to the ground under the dead leaves of the pre ceding season. The old leaves are rusty, dull green and heavily mid-veined. New leaves develop in June, rough in texture with fine netted veins and paler on the lower surface than on the upper. The tiny nectar-bearing flowers, which exist in four forms (see C. Darwin, Forms of Flowers), are white to pale pink and delicately scented, five-lobed and tubular, and grow on stems 6 to 12in. in length.