Mountain Laurel Kalmia latifolia Linnaeus    
Kingdom Plantae   >   Division Tracheophyta   >   Class Magnoliopsida   >   Order Ericales   >   Family Ericaceae   >   Genus Kalmia   

Status:

Mountain Laurel is an evergreen shrub. It is not a true laurel, but rather is a member of the Heath Family.

Description:

Floral display of white or pinkish flowers in spring is striking.

Where to find:

Mountain Laurel tends to grow on dry hillsides in wooded areas. Its foliage is toxic, normally protecting it from deer browse. Thus it often grows in dense stands.

Relationships:

Host plant for Laurel Sphinx Moth (Database of World's Lepidopteran Host Plants).

Host to the fungus Mycosphaerella colorata.

There are 836 records in the project database.

View at Maryland Plant Atlas

Search Flora of North America

Search Mid-Atlantic Herbaria Consortium

Search Norton-Brown Herbarium

View taxon at iNaturalist

Search Google Images


[View seasonality details]
GA AL WA FR CL MO HO BA BC HA CE PG AA CV CH SM KE QA CN TA DO WI SOWO 
Mountain Laurel blooming in Frederick Co., Maryland (5/27/2018). Photo by Mark Etheridge. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Queen Anne's Co., Maryland (5/15/2017). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel blooming in Allegany Co., Maryland (6/27/2016). Photo by Kimberly Booth. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in bloom in a bog in western Garrett Co., Maryland (6/16/2007). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)(More of this species)

Mountain Laurel blooming in Howard Co., Maryland (5/28/2013). Photo by Joanne Solem. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Worcester Co., Maryland (5/28/2015). Photo by Jim Stasz. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Calvert Co., Maryland (12/18/2016). Photo by Wayne Longbottom. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (2/18/2013). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

A bower of Mountain Laurel along a path in Montgomery Co., Maryland (2/3/2017). Photo by Bill Hill. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel growing in Harford Co., Maryland (3/28/2017). Photo by Josh Emm. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Calvert Co., Maryland (11/24/2017). Photo by Edwin Guevara. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel sensing the approach of spring in Anne Arundel Co., Maryland (2/18/2013). Photo by Bill Hubick. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in fruit in Harford Co., Maryland (8/28/2016). Photo by Kirsten Johnson. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/6/2020). (c) Dwight Johnson, all rights reserved. Photo by Dwight Johnson. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/6/2020). (c) Dwight Johnson, all rights reserved. Photo by Dwight Johnson. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Garrett Co., Maryland (6/22/2019). (c) Fluff Berger, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA). Photo by Fluff Berger via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Cecil Co., Maryland (5/27/2018). (c) Ari Rice, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC). Photo by Ari Rice via iNaturalist. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Howard Co., Maryland (6/16/2017). Collected and processed by Helen Lowe Metzman. Photo by USGS PWRC. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel in Baltimore Co., Maryland (6/8/2020). (c) Dwight Johnson, all rights reserved. Photo by Dwight Johnson. (MBP list)

Mountain Laurel leaves with Mountain Laurel Leaf Spot in Caroline Co., Maryland (2/28/2017). Photo by Jim Brighton. (MBP list)


View All Images

Use of images featured on Maryland Biodiversity Project is only permitted with express permission of the photographer.

View Bibliography