![]() If not deadheaded, flowers give way to non-showy brown fruits (3/16” dehiscent capsules) that persist into winter. Each flower (to 1” across) is cup shaped with five sides and ranges in color from rose to white with purple markings inside. Flowers appear in terminal clusters (corymbs to 6” across), typically covering the shrub in late May-June for several weeks with an often exceptional bloom. Notwithstanding its usual shrub habit, mountain laurel will rarely grow as a small tree (particularly on slopes in the Appalachian Mountains) to as much as 30’ tall. It typically grows as a dense rounded shrub to 5-15’ tall, opening up and developing gnarly branches with age. It is noted for its excellent spring flowers and quality year round foliage. Reach him at 41 or See other stories, blogs, videos and more at latifolia, commonly called mountain laurel, is a gnarled, multi-stemmed, broadleaf evergreen shrub or small tree that is native to Eastern North America (New England south to the southern Indiana, Louisiana and the Florida panhandle) where it is found in a variety of habitats including open rocky or sandy woods, cool meadows, balds, mountain slopes and woodland margins. So lace up those hiking boots, strap on that pack, and wander among the mountain laurel, the lovely but deceptively wicked hallmark of Eastern forests.īob Frye is the editor. Mountain laurel - kalmia latifolia to the scientifically inclined - is plenty good just to admire.Īnd the time to do it is right now. Even honey made from mountain laurel pollen is toxic,” the Department of Agriculture adds.īut that’s OK. “Children have been poisoned by merely sucking on the flowers of this plant. Nausea and vomiting, drowsiness, convulsions, and increasingly paralysis follow. The way it takes victims out isn’t overly pleasant either.Ĭonsume it in high enough quantities and your lips, mouth and throat burn. Department of Agriculture says it can even be fatal to both humans and some animals. From leaf to stem to branch, mountain laurel is poisonous in all its forms. You don’t want to blaze a trail through the stuff, that’s for sure. MOUNTAIN LAUREL PLUS“That characteristic plus the shiny smooth appearance of large patches earned them the names ‘laurel hell’ and ‘laurel slick’ from early settlers,” says the Virginia Native Plant Society. Its branches and roots twist and turn and bend and wander like the knuckly, gnarled, arthritic fingers of a hunchbacked witch in a children’s cartoon. To me, that’s always made it companion to adventure, whether hiking, backpacking or camping. Whatever the case, there’s something really cool about it. Add to that fire suppression – a hallmark of forest management that’s slowly going away – and quick-growing mountain laurel spread across the landscape. The loss of the American chestnut tree to blight opened the forest canopy, as did oak deforestation caused by gypsy moths. ![]() Three factors, among others, account for much of that. ![]() Mountain laurel has done exceedingly well over the last century, says the Forest Service. Find a rocky ridge and there’s probably laurel on it. But typically, on its own, laurel clings to life in the margins, notably the thin soils common to mountains. They’ll take the suburbs, if moved there. Mountain laurel flowers are delicately colored.Īnd that’s especially true when you consider where these plants not only endure, but thrive. It’s a beautiful sight of the season, one I never want to miss. When it gets especially abundant - think places like Kings Gap Environmental Education Center in Pennsylvania, or Great Smoky Mountains National Park in Tennessee and North Carolina, for example – its flowers paint entire landscapes. Many more market hiking trails that feature it, given its popularity with outdoor folks. Two states, Pennsylvania and Connecticut, count it their official state flower. Forest Service, it’s “common in the Appalachian Mountains, plateaus, piedmont, and coastal plains from southeast Maine to the Florida panhandle, west to Louisiana, and north through southern Indiana to southern Quebec.” ![]() You can find it in lots of places across the eastern United States. They’re offset by clusters of delicate white and pink flowers. It’s got dark green, shiny, leathery leaves. ![]() It’s one of the most glorious wildflowers of summer, both for the timing of its blooms – they’re at or near peak right now across most of its range – and its hardscrabble, gritty will.Ī shrub, mountain laurel stands five to 10 feet tall usually, though in southern climates it can hit 40. They’re alluring, inviting and even smell good, too. The person across the dinner table is sure enough pretty or handsome. Maybe you’ve had one of those relationships, or even just one of those dates. Mountain laurel is in bloom across the eastern United States. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |