Trailing Arbutus: Early Spring Beauty
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A morning walk along the creek. An afternoon stroll in the trees. A nighttime outing in a field. These are all things that connect us to nature. And nature connects us to what we see, hear, and smell. On a grander scale, nature connects us to our neighbors, to the oceans, and to places miles and miles from Harmony Hill. Among the many daily lessons we learn as we spend time in nature and study her wonders, one of our favorites is this: there is no separation.
This week, let’s look more closely at a small wildflower that can be found blooming quite early in the spring from southern Quebec to the panhandle of Florida and from Minnesota to Mississippi. Even as we kneel beneath a Loblolly Pine in the lower piedmont of South Carolina, we see a diminutive flower blooming that links us and this beautiful place to other people and locations we’ve never seen. Range maps do that very thing, you know. They don’t simply show us where a species has been documented or can be found at various times of the year. They also illustrate sites that have some sort of similarity to where we are and, to a very real extent, places we are also responsible for protecting.
Trailing Arbutus (Epigaea repens) is not a terribly rare plant, as is demonstrated by its wide range across eastern North America. But it is a delicate flower that doesn’t tolerate much disturbance on the landscape, whether that is soil disturbance, flooding, or prolonged drought. Where it is well established; however, it can eventually grow into a lovely mat of green leaves and, this time of year, small whitish and pinkish tubular flowers. As is the case with our friend, the Spotted Salamander, we can use this plant as a type of metric for our management efforts and even for weather patterns at Harmony Hill. Though it doesn’t grow in many places here, Trailing Arbutus can give us indicators of whether we’re getting adequate rainfall, whether we’ve had too much rain and the creek as left its banks, or whether our thinning operations in thick wooded areas have been done responsibly.
As for evidence this plant is a connection for us to this planet, one need only look to the scientific name of Epigaea repens. The genus name, Epigaea, is a joining of two words that form to mean “upon the earth”. The prefix, epi-, translates to “above or upon”, and Gaea is an alternate spelling of Gaia, the Greek deity who is the personification of Mother Earth and who gave birth to the Titans and all life. The species name, repens, translates to “creeping”, as a direct reference to its habit of growing low and, when conditions are right, forming a ground cover.
Stepping back and reevaluating the translation of the scientific name, Trailing Arbutus is a plant that grows low upon the surface of Mother Earth, a place we all share!
Trailing Arbutus grows best in acidic soils that are well-drained, which Harmony Hill is blessed with. In the places we’ve documented it, it favors sandy soils in forests which are dominated by Loblolly Pines. Those soils provide superb drainage and have an inherently low pH. These sites provide partial shade and the mulch of fallen pine needles soften the blow of deer and even human feet; but, are also a double-edged sword. These sandy loams are the first to see the effects of occasional summer droughts that we’ve seen last for far too long. While Trailing Arbutus is tolerant of heat and drought, there have been summers that have been oppressively hot, with a lack of rain that stressed even adult trees with healthy root systems.
Down the hill towards the bottomland hardwoods and the creek, we find sites that can host Epigaea repens, but are not conducive for long lasting success. The soils are nice and acidic, but conditions are not best for Trailing Arbutus to grow for long. Though it doesn’t flood on a regular or predictable timetable, we’ve seen the creek spill well out of its banks and flood the forest floor for extended periods. Soils that are too wet or see standing water for any real length of time are incompatible for this plant to succeed. Also, the midstory and upper story of the forest can be a little too shady, blocking precious sunlight from this groundcover.
Soil compaction is another disturbance that will harm growing Trailing Arbutus and will prevent it from expanding on the landscape. But in a twist of irony, it can readily take advantage of wooded areas that have been opened and disturbed by fire or even mechanical means.
The flowers, while usually white, can also be found with various shades of pink on their tubular structure. Those tubes normally measure between ½” – ¾”, though they have been known to grow as long as 1”. Just a week after the flowers disappear, a small white fruit develops, resembling a tiny, pale raspberry. Thicker, leathery green leaves, measuring up to 2 ½”, are found all year, well after the beautiful flowers have faded.
Besides delivering a pop of elegance on the forest floor, Trailing Arbutus is utilized by wildlife. The fruit of the plant is eaten by a wide variety of birds, especially thrushes, towhees, cardinals, thrashers, and mockingbirds. It is also believed small mammals may consume the fruit.
Culturally, humans have used the leaves for various medicinal remedies and treatments since long before we walked the sacred grounds of Harmony Hill. Native Americans have made teas and tinctures to treat kidney and urinary issues, as well as stomach cramps and joint pain.
In more recent history, the common names of Mayflower and Plymouth Mayflower were given to Trailing Arbutus, as it was thought to be the first wildflower observed by pilgrims after their first harsh winter in the new world. We don’t know if that tale is true or not, but we can easily see how this early spring wildflower would lift the spirits of anyone after a long, hard winter!
One small plant, barely lifting more than a few inches off the ground. That’s what we’ve been discussing. A delicate flower on a plant susceptible to being snuffed out by flooding or ground disturbance, but is one of the first to bloom and remind us of the newness of spring.
But also, this plant is a reminder of our connection to nature, to this planet and, as it turns out, to both Native American culture and American history! When we observe Trailing Arbutus, we are reminded of people before us using it to treat ailments, of early settlers emerging from a trying winter to see its blooms promising better days, and of being responsible with how we move and alter the land. In being good stewards, we seek to better the land and get Harmony Hill to a more sustainable state, where her ecosystems are healthy and require less and less of the hand of man. In getting there, we want our footprint to be as light as possible. Trailing Arbutus is a plant we can use as a reminder to be as delicate in our philosophy and approach as it is on the landscape. And, as we look at the range map of this and other species, we hope others see the same connection and understand the responsibility of conserving places and things for others we may never meet.