Kalmia angustifolia L.
Sheep laurel
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.
Habitats: Moist bogs or swamps, disturbed sites, roadsides, and dry pine forests.
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:
6/24/2025 · Hackett and Minot Trails, Harpswell, Maine · ≈ 6 × 9″ (14 × 21 cm) 
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) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 3 × 5″ (8.5 × 12 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) 
9/29/2013 · North Bubble Hike, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
6/8/2012 · Townsend Wildlife Management Area, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 5 × 8″ (13 × 19 cm) 
9/28/2013 · Cadillac Mountain, Acadia National Park, Bar Harbor, Maine · ≈ 8 × 6″ (20 × 14 cm) 
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) 
8/9/2025 · Garcelon Bog, Lewiston, Maine · ≈ 4 × 6″ (10 × 16 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 · ≈ 1½ × 1′ (52 × 34 cm) 
6/21/2017 · Pearl Hill State Park, Townsend, Massachusetts · ≈ 3 × 4″ (8.1 × 10 cm) 
8/3/2025 · Saco Heath Preserve, Saco, Maine · ≈ 6 × 8″ (14 × 21 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 
| Kingdom | Plantae | Plants, but not fungi, lichens, or algae (from Stearn's Botanical Latin) |
| Subkingdom | Tracheobionta | Vascular plants—plants with a “circulatory system” for delivering water and nutrients |
| Division | Magnoliophyta | Flowering plants, also known as angiosperms |
| Class | Magnoliopsida | Dicotyledons—plants with two initial seed leaves |
| Subclass | Asteridae | A large class that encompasses asters |
| Order | Ericales | Tea, persimmon, blueberry, Brazil nut, azalea, many others |
| Family | Ericaceae | Heath or heather family |
| Genus | Kalmia | Named by Linnaeus to honour his friend the Finnish botanist Pehr Kalm |
| Species | angustifolia | Having narrow foliage |
Kalmia angustifolia description by Thomas H. Kent, not updated.
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