I’ve encountered this plant every spring at the summit of Table Rock in SC but have not encountered it anywhere else in the area. This shrub blooms when piedmont azaleas are just beginning to open. It is in full bloom now.
Hi Glen,
this is a wonderful native evergreen shrub called the mountain sand myrtle, Leiophyllum buxifolium var. prostratum. It is indeed scarce in upstate South Carolina, and is found mostly at high elevations in North Carolina. A distant relative of Rhododendron, a more common variety is found in the sandhills.
Sincerely,
Steven Hill, Ph.D., Botanist