ERICACEAE - - Heath Family

Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus — Mountain Laurel

Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia) - Shrub, or small tree 12 m. tall, the twigs often fuzzy when young; leaf-blades elliptic to oval, 5—12 cm. long, glabrous, dark-green; calyx-lobes elliptic to elliptic-ovate, about 2 mm. long; corolla white or pink, 20—25 mm. wide; filaments 10—12 mm. long; capsule 5—7 mm. wide.

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. Unlike our other species, which are strictly shrubs, K. latifolia reaches the stature and diameter of a small tree.

Habitat information from:
Weakley, Alan S., Flora of the Southern and Mid-Atlantic States, Working Draft of 21 May 2015.

The range of Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)

Kartesz, J.T., The Biota of North America Program (BONAP). 2015. North American Plant Atlas. (http://bonap.net/napa). Chapel Hill, N.C. [maps generated from Kartesz, J.T. 2015. Floristic Synthesis of North America, Version 1.0. Biota of North America Program (BONAP). (in press)].

The Georgia range of Kalmia latifolia (Mountain Laurel)

Zomlefer, W.B., J.R. Carter, & D.E. Giannasi. 2014 (and ongoing). The Atlas of Georgia Plants. University of Georgia Herbarium (Athens, Georgia) and Valdosta State University Herbarium (Valdosta, Georgia). Available at: http://www.georgiaherbaria.org/.