Mountain-Laurel is an evergreen large shrub or small tree, common in the Mountains, uncommon on north-facing slopes in the Piedmont, and rare in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina.
Pilot Mountain, Surry Co., NC 5/16/10.
Plantae>Magnoliophyta>Magnoliopsida>Ericales>Ericaceae>Kalmia latifolia L.
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| Mountain-Laurel is an evergreen large shrub or small tree, common in the Mountains, uncommon on north-facing slopes in the Piedmont, and rare in the Coastal Plain of North Carolina. Pilot Mountain, Surry Co., NC 5/16/10. |
| Unopened flower buds are pinkish. Alleghany Co., NC 5/29/05. |
| Mountain-Laurels produce showy clusters of 10-parted white to pink flowers in early-mid May in the Durham area. Chatham Co., NC 5/11/2003. |
| Chatham Co., NC 5/11/2003. |
| Orange Co., NC 5/18/08. |
| Orange Co., NC 5/18/08. |
| Grayson Co., VA 5/30/2009. |
| Grayson Co., VA 5/30/2009. |
| Developing fruits. Pilot Mountain, Surry Co., NC 6/14/09. |
| Tenaciously hanging on for survival in a cliffside crack. Pilot Mountain, Surry Co., NC 5/16/10. |
| The leathery evergreen leaves slightly resemble those of the unrelated laurel (Laurus nobilis) of Europe, but are very poisonous. Orange Co., NC 3/30/05. |
| Bark detail. Orange Co., NC 3/30/05. |
More information:
Connecticut Botanical Society
Trees of Alabama and the Southeast
University of Connecticut
Virginia Tech Dendrology
Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
cwcook@duke.eduAll photographs and text ©2011 by Will Cook unless otherwise indicated.