Arbutus Woods Park

Eylandt St., Stecher St. and Colon St.

Staten Island

This text is part of Parks’ Historical Signs Project and can be found posted within the park.

The trailing arbutus (Epigaea repens) plant used to grow in sandy or rocky clearings all over Staten Island. However, the species has been locally extinct since the 1940s. The plant, which is known for its clusters of tiny white or pink flowers, trailing woody stems, and leathery green oval leaves, would bloom in this area during April and May. But local residents enthusiastically harvested the plant as a salad vegetable, and it can no longer be found anywhere on the island. Botanists continue to search parklands such as this one, hoping that the leaves of larger plants hide the small trailing arbutus.