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Common Name: Mountain Laurel
Scientific Name: Kalmia latifolia
Family: Ericaceae
Serendipity Ranch
Columbus, North Carolina
April 27, 2002
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The leathery, evergreen, alternate leaves of this shrub are elliptical and mostly 2 - 3 inches long. The corolla, of 5 fused petals, is about 1/2 inch broad. A northeastern species of balds and deciduous woods that is frequent or common in our mountains and infrequent to rare in the piedmont and inner coastal plain. April - June [Justice, William S. and Bell, C. Ritchie, Wild Flowers of North Carolina. University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1968]
A showy shrub, often forming dense thickets. Leaves shiny, leathery, evergreen. The bowl-shaped flower clusters are composed of many small cup-shaped pink flowers, each with 10 sides. Buds strongly ribbed. 13 - 15 feet. [Peterson, Roger Tory and McKenny, Margaret, Peterson Field Guides: A Field Guide to Wildflowers of Northeastern and Northcentral North America. Houghton Mifflin Company, Boston, 1968]
The mountain laurel is without a doubt one of the showiest of mountain flowers. Its large clusters of white-to-rose-colored flowers, splashed with purple and accentuated by bright evergreen leaves and pink buds, help turn the springtime mountain landscape into a spectacular chorus of color. A medium-sized shrub of the ivy family, the mountain laurel is many-branched from the base, thus forming a rounded top that can reach a height of 30 feet or more. It begins to bloom as early as April and reaches peak bloom in mid- to late May. Because of its tolerance of shade, mountain laurel grows well in open woods, thereby providing an evergreen touch to the winter scene. This plant can be found in large clumps in a variety of places along the Parkway. [Alderman, J. Anthony, Wildflowers of the Blue Ridge Parkway. The University of North Carolina Press, Chapel Hill, 1997]
January February March April May June July August September October November December
Alphabetical Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Family Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z
Genus Listings -- A B C D, E F G H I, J, K L M N, O P Q, R S T U, V W X, Y, Z