In New England the trailing arbutus is called May flower, and in other places is known as the ground laurel. Its scientific name (Epigoea repens) is from two Greek words, epigoea, meaning "upon the earth," and repens, "trailing, or creeping."

Donald G. Mitchell, in speaking of the desolation of earliest spring, tells us that "the faint blush of the arbutus, in the midst of the bleak March atmosphere will touch the heart like a hope of heaven, in a field of graves."

from "The Trailing Arbutus" by William K. Higley, Bird and Nature Magazine, May 1899