Pachysandra procumbens Michx.
Pachysandra, Alleghany spurge, Alleghany pachysandra
Allegheny pachysandra is native to the southeastern United States. This low, densely growing plants are popular as a ground cover.
Plants: 6–10″ (15–25 cm) high, growing in dense colonies. Technically they are evergreen shrubs, although their small size doesn’t exactly suggest “shrub.”
Leaves: Approximately oval in shape, toothed, alternate, 1¾–4″ (5–10 cm) long, minutely hairy, blue-green, sometimes mottled with purple and white.
Flowers: Pinkish spikes up to 4″ (10 cm) high contain fragrant greenish-white to white flowers. Flowers appear from February to May.
Fruits: Small dry 3-lobed capsules ⅜–⅝″ (1.2–1.6 cm) long.
Habitats: Rich, moist woods, near streams, on limestone soil, at elevations under 3281′ (1 km).
Online References:
Budding in February. · 2/11/2012 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Massachusetts · ≈ 15 × 10″ (39 × 26 cm) 
4/29/2007 · Greenville, Tennessee · By Philip A. Despo 
ID is uncertain 
4/10/2010 · Tom & Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 6 × 4½″ (15 × 11 cm) 
9/7/2010 · New England Botanic Garden at Tower Hill, Boylston, Massachusetts · ≈ 2 × 1′ (62 × 41 cm) 
4/24/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
4/29/2017 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 4 × 2½″ (10 × 7.1 cm) 
5/8/2007 · Tom and Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts 
4/10/2010 · Tom & Susan’s, Pepperell, Massachusetts · ≈ 7 × 4½″ (17 × 11 cm) 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Rosidae | Roses, legumes, proteas, dogwoods, hydrangeas, mistletoes, euphorbias, grapes, many more |
| Order | Malpighiales | A broad group encompassing 16,000 species |
| Family | Buxaceae | The “box” or “boxwood” family |
| Genus | Pachysandra | From pachys, “thick,” and aner, for “stamen,” for the thickened white filaments |
| Species | procumbens | “Stooping,” low |
Pachysandra procumbens description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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