Sheep Laurel
Kalmia angustifolia
Family Ericaceae

Characteristics:
* Flowers cuplike, 3/8"-1/2" across. Clustered around stalk.
* Leaves flat, narrow, evergreen, leathery, opposite or in whorls of 3.
* Leaves less than 2 1/2" long.
* Pollen-bearing anthers spring out when the center of the flower is probed by insects or hummingbirds.
* Height: To 3'.

Natural History:
* Flowers June and July.
* Habitat: Moist areas, bogs, open rocky areas at high elevations.
* Range: Southern Canada and eastern United States.
* Native.

Connections!
* The foliage is poisonous to livestock. Some other New England names for Sheep Laurel are Sheepkill and Sheepsbane.

* "...it kills the English cattle, if they chance to feed upon it."
-Josselyn, 1672, New England

* "Shall I strew on thee rose or rue or laurel...Or simplest growth of meadow-sweet or sorrel?"
-Algernon Charles Swinburne, 1837-1909