There is only one Epigea in this country,—a very fragrant and beautiful
species, creeping close to the ground, and bearing dense clusters of
pearly flowers, edged with crimson. The flowers are not unlike those of
some of the heaths, though of larger size. It grows abundantly in many
parts of New England, particularly around Plymouth, and in various
localities from Canada to Georgia. It is a creeping shrub, occupying dry
knolls in swampy land, and growing along on the edges of the swamp upon
the upland soil. The leaves are almost round, evergreen, light-colored
and slightly russet, partially overlapping the dense clusters of
flowers, that possess a great deal of beauty and emit an odor like that
of hyacinths.
No plant has more celebrity among our people than the Ground Laurel, the
earliest of all our wild flowers. I cannot consent to apply to it the
common unmeaning name of “Mayflower,” thus associating it with the fetid
Mayweed, and falsifying its character by an anachronism that assigns to
the month of May a flower belonging to April. The name of Mayflower, as
applied to the Epigea, means nothing except what is false. Almost all
our early flowers belong especially to the month of May. This is
distinguished from them by appearing almost alone in April. Its popular
appellation is a plain misnomer; and as an apology for it, the name is
said to have been given to it by the Pilgrims, in commemoration of the
ship that brought them to this country. I cannot believe the Pilgrims
ever took any notice of it. Mayflower is a name that originated with
some ignorant people, who could not think of any better name than the
one it bears in common with fifty other species.