Kalmia latifolia L.

vernacular mountain laurel — species · Ericaceae

USDA: KALA
GBIF: 2883005
Rank: species

mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) — Platephotograph · Alex AbairCC BY source · iNaturalist ↗

§2Habit & range

Growth habit: Shrub, Tree
Duration: Perennial
Group: Dicot
Family: Ericaceae Juss.
Genus: Kalmia

§2a

Native status, by region

L48 Lower 48 States Native

§2b

County-level range

· 4 counties across 1 state

Legend Native · 4 Introduced · 0 Both · 0 Hover a county for detail.

§3Cultivation specs · USDA

Recorded by the USDA Plant Materials Program.

§3a

Tolerances

Drought: High
Shade: Low
Moisture use: Low
Fire: Medium
Salinity: None
Anaerobic: None
CaCO₃: None
Hedging: Low

§3b

Climate & soil

Cold tolerance: -23 °F minimum
Frost-free days: 150 min.
Precipitation: 32–60 in/yr
pH range: 4.5–5.5
Root depth: 24 in min.
Fertility need: Low
Soil texture: coarse, medium

§3c

Form & growth

Growth form: Multiple Stem
Growth rate: Slow
Lifespan: Long
Mature height: 6 ft
Height @ 20 y: 5 ft
Foliage texture: Coarse
Foliage colour: Green
Porosity (summer): Moderate
Porosity (winter): Moderate
Flower colour: Purple
Fruit colour: Brown
Fire resistant: No
N fixation: None
Toxicity: None

§3d

Reproduction

Bloom period: Mid Spring
Seed abundance: Low
Seed begins: Spring
Seed ends: Summer
Spread rate: Slow
Stratify: No
Seeds / lb: 15,000,000
Propagation: seed, cuttings, bare root, container

§3e

Use & availability

Commercial availability: Routinely Available
Nursery stock: Yes
Browse palatability: Low
Graze palatability: Low
Palatable, human: No
Protein potential: Low
Lumber: No
Christmas tree: No

§4Counties, by state

Recorded in 4 counties across 1 state.

Rhode Island view state ↗ 4 N ▾

§5Sources & provenance

USDA PLANTS

Symbol, taxonomy, distribution, cultivation specs, native status. Public domain.

plants.usda.gov/KALA ↗

GBIF Backbone

Canonical taxonomic identity, synonym resolution, cross-refs. CC0.

gbif.org/species/2883005 ↗

Record version

Cached and built locally. Source version on this record:

usda-plants-mt-2026-05-25

fetched 2026-05-25T18:27:19Z