OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

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



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.

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm191222_2361_k_latifoli

    Clay County    AL

Cheaha State Park

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905)    mtna_i_827

        

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_kala_001_lvd

        

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / USDA Wetland flora: Field office illustrated guide    pnd_kala_005_lvd

        

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm0502b_14

February    Oconee County    SC

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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).

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm0503a_08

March    Greenville County    SC

Paris Mountain State Park

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm0305f_12

May    Greenville County    SC

Caesars Head State Park

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm160504_393

May    Jackson County    NC

Panthertown

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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.

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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.

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm200517_5023

May    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm210516_0443

May    Greenville County    SC

Tall Pines Wildlife Management Area

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm230505_2985

May    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm230505_3038

May    Transylvania County    NC

DuPont State Forest

A mighy small plant to have so many flowers...

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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).

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

Alan S. Weakley    asw_10231836650595257

June        

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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).

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

Ron Lance    rwl_kalmia_latifolia_b

June    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm0107e_31

July    Transylvania County    NC

Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm060710_038

July    Tucker County    WV

Monongahela National Forest

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

Stephanie C. Brundage    scb_091421gsmnp30

September    Blount County    TN

Great Smoky Mountains National Park

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

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.

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    jkm0311f_12

November    Rutherford County    NC

Chimney Rock Park

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    s081221_c

December    Oconee County    SC

Leaves 2.5-12 cm long, petiole 7-45 mm long, per Weakley's Flora.


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Kalmia and Rhododendron species

image of Kalmia latifolia, Mountain Laurel, Ivy, Calico-bush, Mountain Ivy

JK Marlow    s081221_d

December    Oconee County    SC


click here to see other plants that look similar to this 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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

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)

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

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!



 


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