Kalmia angustifolia L.

Sheep laurel

About plant names...

Sheep laurel is native to North America.

Plants: Sheep laurel is 6-36" (15-91 cm) tall, spreading wider over time. A unique identifying feature of this plant is that each stem is terminated by 3-leaf clusters rather than flowers; the flowers grow in clumps along the stem instead.

Leaves: Oval, with smooth edges, yellow-green or blue-green in color, 1-2" (2.5-5 cm) long and about ½-1¼" (1.3-3.2 cm) wide. The leaf undersides are pale.

Flowers: A beautiful bright pink color, occurring in clusters of about 10-30, each about ⅜-½" (9.5-12 mm) across.

Fruits: Fruits are light brown, small capsules with five sections.

Edibility: Poisonous This plant is highly toxic to sheep as well as people, and can be fatal to either. Toxic ingredients include andromedotoxin and arbutin.

Online References:

The University of Connecticut Plant Database

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

The Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center

Plants for a Future, a resource and information centre for edible and otherwise useful plants

The Virginia Tech Department of Forest Resources and Environmental Conservation

The USDA Forest Service's Fire Effects Information Database

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

6/8/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3½ × 4½" (9.2 × 12 cm)

5/25/2010 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Ayer, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4½" (14 × 12 cm)

6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4½ × 7" (12 × 18 cm)

6/8/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 2½ × 2½" (6.7 × 7 cm)

This looks like a cultivar. · 6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 4" (12 × 10 cm)

7/12/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, Wilmot/Warner, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 7 × 4½" (18 × 12 cm)

6/8/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 5 × 8" (13 × 19 cm)

Kalmia angustifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, last updated 23 Aug 2020.

© FloraFinder.org. All rights reserved.

6/2/2016 · Townsend Wildlife Management Are, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts

6/19/2021 · Long Reach Preserve, Harpswell, Maine

6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 4 × 6" (10 × 15 cm)

8/22/2020 · Kettle Hole Bog, Hidden Valley Nature Center, Jefferson, Maine
≈ 5 × 4½" (13 × 12 cm)

6/17/2013 · Nashua River Rail Trail, Nashoba Hospital, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 5" (16 × 13 cm)

7/12/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, Wilmot/Warner, New Hamp­shire
≈ 9 × 6" (22 × 15 cm)

9/19/2009 · Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine
≈ 5 × 7" (13 × 16 cm) ID is uncertain

9/14/2010 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 21 × 14" (52 × 34 cm)

6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 3 × 4" (8.1 × 10 cm)

This looks like a cultivar. · 6/22/2017 · Garden in the Woods, Framingham, Mass­a­chu­setts
≈ 6 × 4" (16 × 11 cm)

5/30/2015 · Townsend Wildlife Area
≈ 7 × 5" (17 × 13 cm)

7/12/2015 · Mt. Kearsarge, Wilmot/Warner, New Hamp­shire
≈ 8 × 5" (19 × 13 cm)

9/26/2016 · Henry E. Cowdrey Nature Center, Lunenberg, Mass­a­chu­setts

Range:

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