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lambkill, sheep American-laurel, sheep-laurel

Habit Shrubs erect, 0.3–1.5 m.
Twigs

terete, viscid, glabrous or puberulent.

Leaves

usually in whorls of 3, rarely alternate or opposite;

petiole 6–16 mm, usually puberulent;

blade oblong to elliptic-lanceolate, 1.5–8 × 0.5–2.5 cm, margins usually plane, apex obtuse to acute, usually apiculate, abaxial surface glabrous or puberulent, sometimes stipitate-glandular, adaxial lightly puberulent (hairs white, to 0.1 mm), sometimes glabrescent, midrib puberulent.

Inflorescences

axillary near distal end, corymbiform racemes, 4–12-flowered.

Pedicels

5–20 mm.

Flowers

sepals usually green, sometimes reddish apically or throughout, ovate, 2–2.8 mm, apex usually acuminate, surfaces puberulent;

petals connate nearly their entire lengths, usually reddish purple to pink, rarely white or bluish pink, usually deeper colored near anther pockets and with ring of red to purple spots just proximal to pockets, 7.5–9.5 × 6–13 mm, abaxial surface puberulent, adaxial glabrous, puberulent toward base;

filaments 2.5–3.5 mm;

style 3.5–4.5 mm.

Capsules

5-locular, 2–3.5 × 3–5 mm, puberulent, stipitate-glandular.

Seeds

winged, obovoid, 0.6–1 mm.

2n

= 24.

Kalmia angustifolia

Distribution
from FNA
CT; DE; GA; MA; MD; ME; MI; NC; NH; NJ; NY; PA; RI; SC; TN; VA; VT; WV; NB; NF; NS; ON; PE; QC [Introduced in n Europe]
[WildflowerSearch map]
[BONAP county map]
Discussion

Varieties 2 (2 in the flora).

The two varieties of Kalmia angustifolia are largely separate geographically and show different flavonoid profiles (S. Liu 1993). Southeastern Virginia has long been known as a region of overlap of these two entities; field and herbarium work (B. A. Sorrie and A. S. Weakley, unpubl.) has demonstrated that the two taxa retain their distinctiveness and that hybrids are rare. Sorrie and Weakley concluded that the two should be treated as separate species.

(Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.)

Key
1. Calyces densely stipitate-glandular; leaf blade surfaces glabrous or scattered, stipitate-glandular trichomes.
var. angustifolia
1. Calyces usually not stipitate-glandular; leaf blade surfaces densely puberulent abaxially, usually not stipitate-glandular.
var. carolina
Source FNA vol. 8, p. 482.
Parent taxa Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Kalmia
Sibling taxa
K. buxifolia, K. cuneata, K. hirsuta, K. latifolia, K. microphylla, K. polifolia, K. procumbens
Subordinate taxa
K. angustifolia var. angustifolia, K. angustifolia var. carolina
Synonyms Chamaedaphne angustifolia
Name authority Linnaeus: Sp. Pl. 1: 391. 1753 ,
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