Kalmia

Century Dictionary and Cyclopedia

1. n. A genus of American ericaceous shrubs belonging to the tribe Rhodoreæ distinguished by the open bell-shaped corolla and ten hypogynous stamens with elongated filaments. The anthers have the peculiarity (though free in the early bud) of becoming embedded in specialized pits or pockets of the corolla as it expands, the filaments bending over and acquiring tension, and finally straightening elastically, withdrawing the anthers suddenly, and projecting the pollen to some distance over adjacent flowers. The plants are for the most part handsome evergreen shrubs with shining leaves and showy flowers in corymbs. There are 6 species, one of which grows in the West Indies, and one extends to the Rocky Mountains and California, the remainder being confined to eastern North America. K. latifolia, the American laurel, also called calico-bush from the color of its flowers, is one of the most wide-spread and beautiful of American shrubs, and was proposed by Darlington as the national emblem. It is a large shrub, often from 10 to 20 feet in height, with ample shining leaves and a profusion of very showy flowers varying from nearly white to deep pink. The stems are crooked and straggling, the bark brown and scaly, and the wood very hard and useful for various purposes. K. angustifolia, the sheep-laurel, lambkill, or wicky, is a smaller shrub with bright crimson or rose-colored flowers, common in New England, and ranging from Hudson's Bay to Georgia. It is believed to poison sheep when the deep snows of winter drive them to the extremity of eating it. K. glauca, the pale laurel, prefers cold peat-bogs, and is the only species that ranges across the continent. It is a low straggling bush, with the leaves whitened underneath, and lilac-purple flowers.

Wiktionary

1. n. A taxonomic genus within the tribe Phyllodoceae — the mountain laurel and related trees.

GNU Webster's 1913

1. n. (Bot.) A genus of North American shrubs with poisonous evergreen foliage and corymbs of showy flowers. Called also mountain laurel, ivy bush, lamb kill, calico bush, etc.

WordNet 3.0

1. n. any plant of the genus Kalmia