STATE FLOWER
Massachusetts's State Flower: Mayflower
The mayflower (Epigaea repens) — said to be named by the Pilgrims — became Massachusetts's official state flower in 1918 following a vote by roughly 150,000 schoolchildren.
A Flower Worth Protecting
By 1925, the mayflower's popularity as an early spring wildflower had put real pressure on wild populations, prompting the state to grant it legal protection as endangered flora. The plant — also known as trailing arbutus — grows low along the woodland floor, its small pink-and-white blooms among the very first signs of spring in New England forests.
QUICK FACT
Because it's protected, it's illegal in Massachusetts to pick or uproot the mayflower from the wild.
