Myrtle is a European native introduced to the United States in the 1700s, where it is
used as an ornamental ground cover. It spreads quickly in some habitats and is sometimes considered
an invasive.
Identification: Myrtle is only 6″ (15 cm) high, a vine with dark, glossy
evergreen leaves. It prefers the partial shade of forest floors, where it forms a nearly continuous mat.
Leaves are elliptic in shape, with smooth edges, about 1″ (2.5 cm) long. The natural plant has five-petaled blue-purple
flowers about ½-¾″ (1.3-1.9 cm) across. Cultivars come in shades of reddish purple or white.
From Britton, Nathaniel Lord, and Brown, Addison, An illustrated flora of the northern United States, Canada and the British Possessions, 1913, p. Vol. 3, p. 20, courtesy of the USDA PLANTS database.