Kalmia latifolia

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Distribution Map: Based on vouchered plant specimens only. View county names by placing the mouse cursor over a particular county.

Family:ERICACEAE
Species:Kalmia latifolia L.
Common Name:Mountain Laurel; Calico Bush; Spoonwood
Habitat:Oak dominated woodlands especially at higher elevations.
Associated Ecological Communities:**
Growth Habit:Shrub
Duration:Perennial
Category:Vascular
USDA Symbol:KALA
Plant Notes:Mountain Laurel is a native evergreen shrub in the Heath family (Ericaceae). It can be found throughout Alabama. It is absent from some of the areas with basic soil such as the Black Belt and portions of the Tennessee Valley. Mountain Laurel grows along creeks and rivers, on steep hardwood slopes, and occasionally on xeric red clay hilltops in longleaf pine woods. Mountain Laurel grows to a height of 6-20 feet. It is often a thicket forming shrub. Limbs and trunks are contorted. The bark is reddish brown and peels in long strips. Leaves are alternate, glossy, and glabrous, puberulent, or glandular. They are elliptic to lanceolate in outline, entire, and thick and leathery in texture. Flowers are produced in terminal panicles. Flowers are radially symmetrical with five petals untied for most of their length. Each petal has two pockets in which the tips of the anthers are held under tension. Flower color ranges from white through deep pink with darker markings on the inner surface. The fruit is a capsule with many small winged seed. All parts of this plant are toxic if ingested. When Mountain Laurel is in bud, the stamens elongate and the anthers get caught in tiny pockets around the base of the petals. When the petals open, the stamens are stretched taunt and bent over. This sets up a spring-loaded trap for visiting insects. When one lands on the flower and touches the stamen, it releases it from the pocket and the stamen springs back, curling toward the center of the flower. This slaps that anther against the visiting insect, ensuring a good dusting of pollen. Mountain Laurel is commonly available from nurseries. There are many selected forms with different flower color and growth habits. Mountain Laurel prefers a moist, acidic, organic soil in partial shade. It plants are grown in deep shade they will not produce many flowers, and plants grown in full sun are subject to foliage damage. Plants can also be grown from cuttings and by layering.--A. Diamond
Taxonomic Notes:**
Status:Native, FACU (NWI)
References:**
Specimen: View specimen details in the Alabama Herbarium Consortium Specimen Database

** Not applicable or data not available.

Classification

FamilyERICACEAE - Heath family
Genus Kalmia
Species Kalmia latifolia L. - Mountain Laurel; Calico Bush; Spoonwood

Citation

Citation Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, Sp. Pl. 1: 391. 1753.
Basionym: **
Type: "Cistus Chamaerhododendros Mariana, Laurifolia, floribus expansis, summo ramulo in umbellam plurimis" in Plukenet, Amalth. Bot., , t. 379, f. 6, 1705. Lectotypified by J.L. Reveal, in C.E. Jarvis et al., Regn. Veg. 127: 58. 1993.

** Not applicable or data not available.

Synonyms

SynonymFull CitationBasionymType
Chamaedaphne latifolia Chamaedaphne latifolia (Linnaeus) Kuntze, Revis. Gen. Pl. 2: 388. 1891.Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus 1753.  
Kalmia ferruginea Kalmia ferruginea Rafinesque, Autik. Bot. 86. 1840. PENNSYLVANIA
Kalmia latifolia var. alba Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. alba Lavalle, Enum. Arbres 139. 1877, non Bosse 1841.  
Kalmia latifolia var. alba Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. alba Bosse, Vollst. Handb. Bl.-Gaertn., ed. 2. 2: 348. 1841.  
Kalmia latifolia var. fuscata Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. fuscata Rehder, Moeller's Deutsche Gartn.- Zeitung 18: 578. 1903. NEW YORK: Columbia Co.: Canaan Four Corners, 23 Jun 1903, Childs s.n. (holotype: A).
Kalmia latifolia var. laevipes Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. laevipes Fernald, Rhodora 42: 53. 1940. VIRGINIA: Chesapeake Co.: Great Dismal Swamp W of Yadkin, 20 Aug 1939, Fernald & Long 11101 (holotype: GH).
Kalmia latifolia var. monstruosa Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. monstruosa Mouillefert, Traite Arbr. Arbriss. 1027. 1897.  
Kalmia latifolia var. myrtifolia Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. myrtifolia Bosse, Vollst. Handb. Bl.-Gaertn., ed. 2. 2: 348. 1841.  
Kalmia latifolia var. nana Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. nana Lavalle, Enum. Arbres 139. 1877.  
Kalmia latifolia var. obtusata Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. obtusata Rehder, Moeller's Deutsche Gartn.- Zeitung 18: 577. 1903. CONNECTICUT: Windham Co.: Pomfret, s.d., Bowditch s.n. (holotype: A?).
Kalmia latifolia var. pavartii Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. pavartii Andre, Rev. Hort. 60: 541. 1888.  
Kalmia latifolia var. polypetala Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. polypetala G. Nicholson, Hand-List Trees 2: 49. 1896.  
Kalmia latifolia var. rubra Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. rubra (Sweet ex K. Koch) Rehder, in L. H. Bailey, Cycl. Amer. Hort. 2: 1734. 1935.Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, forma rubra Sweet ex K. Koch 1872. 
Kalmia myrtifolia Kalmia myrtifolia (Bosse) Andre, Rev. Hort. 55: 10. 1883.Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus, var. myrtifolia Bosse 1841. 

Specimens and Distribution

This species has been reported in the following counties by the herbaria listed. An overview of the individual specimens are provided in the table that follows. Click on the accession number to view details; click on column headers to sort; choose a county or herbaria to filter the specimen data.

Counties included on distribution map: Autauga, Baldwin, Barbour, Bibb, Blount, Butler, Calhoun, Chambers, Cherokee, Chilton, Choctaw, Clarke, Clay, Cleburne, Coffee, Colbert, Conecuh, Coosa, Covington, Crenshaw, Cullman, Dale, DeKalb, Elmore, Escambia, Etowah, Franklin, Geneva, Hale, Henry, Houston, Jackson, Jefferson, Lamar, Lauderdale, Lawrence, Lee, Limestone, Lowndes, Macon, Madison, Marengo, Marion, Marshall, Mobile, Monroe, Perry, Pike, Randolph, Russell, Shelby, St. Clair, Sumter, Talladega, Tallapoosa, Tuscaloosa, Walker, Washington, Wilcox, Winston

Counties represented by specimen data listed below:

Herbaria represented by specimen data listed below: ALNHS, AUA, JSU, NY, SAMF, TROY, UNA, USAM, UWAL

Range of years during which specimens were collected: 1949 - 2021

Barcode / Accession No.
County
Coll. Date
Collector &
Collection No.
Herbarium &
Herbarium Name Used
Image
AUA_ACC_6242 Autauga Apr 1908 ANDREWS, ELIZABETH F.
 AUA
KALMIA LATIFOLIA L.
UWAL0011776 Autauga 03 May 2013 Keener, Brian R.
7809		 UWAL
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
TROY000041047 Autauga 03 May 2013 Keener, Brian R.
7809		 TROY
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
UWAL0047333 Autauga 11 May 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1715		 UWAL
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
TROY000047719 Autauga 11 May 2018 Parker, Matthew R.
1715		 TROY
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
UWAL0038261 Baldwin 20 Apr 1974 LeLong, Michel G.
7620		 UWAL
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
USAM000005604 Baldwin 20 Apr 1974 LeLong, Michel G.
7650		 USAM
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
USAM000005603 Baldwin 20 Apr 1974 LeLong, Michel G.
7620		 USAM
Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus
UWAL0043257 Baldwin 11 Apr 2001 Larsen, Harry S.
693		 UWAL
Kalmia latifolia L.
UNA00059142 Baldwin 14 Apr 2001 Spaulding, Daniel D.
11009		 UNA
Kalmia latifolia L.
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