Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kalmia latifolia
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Mountain Laurel at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kalmia latifolia
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Kalmia latifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-08-001:
Kalmia latifolia FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kalmia latifolia
COMMON NAME:
Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm191222_2361_k_latifoli
Clay County AL
Cheaha State Park
)
Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_827
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_kala_001_lvd
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide pnd_kala_005_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm0502b_14
February Oconee County SC
)
JK Marlow jkm0403l_12
March Oconee County SC
Devils Fork State Park
Bark is brown, thinly furrowed or flaky, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm0503a_08
March Greenville County SC
Paris Mountain State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0305f_12
May Greenville County SC
Caesars Head State Park
)
JK Marlow jkm160504_393
May Jackson County NC
Panthertown
)
JK Marlow jkm200517_5019
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
The corolla, of 5 fused petals, is about 0.5" broad, per Wild Flowers of NC, 1st edition.
)
JK Marlow jkm200517_5021
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
All Kalmia's foliage and wood (and the smoke from burning them) are poisonous, per Weakley's Flora.
)
JK Marlow jkm200517_5023
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm210516_0443
May Greenville County SC
Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area
)
JK Marlow jkm230505_2985
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
)
JK Marlow jkm230505_3038
May Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
A mighy small plant to have so many flowers...
)
Kevin Adams kcakalmialatifolia_w15
May NC
Mount PIsgah
Each flower resembles an umbrella whose ribs are made from arched stamens, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
)
Alan S. Weakley asw_10231836650595257
June
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JK Marlow jkm140607_529
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Usually with purple around the 10 pockets in which the anthers are fitted, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
Ron Lance rwl_kalmia_latifolia_b
June Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
JK Marlow jkm0107e_31
July Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
)
JK Marlow jkm060710_038
July Tucker County WV
Monongahela National Forest
)
Stephanie C. Brundage scb_091421gsmnp30
September Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm0410i_27
October Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
R. Maximum is in the center; on right R. carolinianum; on left Kalmia latifolia.
)
JK Marlow jkm0311f_12
November Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
)
JK Marlow s081221_c
December Oconee County SC
Leaves 2.5-12 cm long, petiole 7-45 mm long, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
leaves of Kalmia and Rhododendron species
)
JK Marlow s081221_d
December Oconee County SC
COMPARE
leaf undersides of Kalmia and Rhododendron species
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kalmia latifolia
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kalmia latifolia
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Kalmia latifolia
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-08-001:
Kalmia latifolia
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kalmia latifolia
781
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Acidic forests, bluffs, bogs, along sandhill steams, and in a wide range of other habitats, nearly ubiquitous in the mountains, up to at least 1600m, more restricted in habitat in the lower Piedmont and Coastal Plain, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common (uncommon in SC Coastal Plain, rare in GA Coastal Plain)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White/Pink
5 sepals
5-lobed corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Atlantic Coastal Plain Wildflowers (Nelson, 2006) p082
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p356
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p076
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p250
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p060
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p164
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p416
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p187
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p223
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p255
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p109
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p134
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p292
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p185
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p220
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p179
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p169
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p098
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p27
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p291
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p184
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p236
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