Mayflowers, also called trailing arbutus are so close to the ground and so early in the spring that many people never see or notice them. They can often be found along wooded paths where the leaves haven’t come out on the trees yet and where the ground is sort of hilly, dry and maybe even a bit poor or rough. Here you can see a little patch of them along a path. If you weren’t looking for them you might not see them.Here’s a close up view. You can see they barely peek out of the leaves on the forest floor.
These blossoms had a nice pink color. They can range in color from pure white to pinkish to these almost pink flowers.
Mayflowers are in bloom all over Cape Cod right now so if you’re out and around, go see if you can find some. The top two photos were from the Hathaway’s Pond trails in Hyannis the bottom was from the Skunknett Audubon Sanctuary in Osterville.