Kalmia polifolia

Species of shrub

Kalmia polifolia, previously known as Kalmia glauca or pale laurel, is a perennial evergreen shrub of cold acidic bogs, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to north eastern North America, from Newfoundland to Hudson Bay southwards.

The genus 'Kalmia' is named after Pehr Kalm, a Swedish Finn botanist, who was a student of Linnaeus. The species name, 'polifolia', is Latin for 'pole leaves' or 'pole petals'. The former species name, 'glauca', is Latin for gleaming or gray, a word ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek 'γλαυκός', meaning blue green or blue gray.

The plant was first described by Friedrich Adam Julius von Wangenheim, a German botanist.

Kalmia polifolia is common throughout Northern North America, Within Canada, Kalmia polifolia is very commonly found in east Nova Scotia where bog conditions are more frequent. Kalmia polifolia has also been spotted in a bog in Surrey, England. Kalmia polifolia flowers in April and is pollinated by bees. Its seeds ripen in September. Kalmia polifolia can grow to be two feet tall. Its leaves are arranged oppositely upon its branch and grow to be an inch to an inch and a half in length and tend to be waxy with an entire and revolute margin. According to Lewis and Elvin Lewis, the active compounds within Kalmia polifolia include andromedotoxin and arbutin. These compounds cause a slowing of pulse, a lowering of blood pressure, progressive paralysis and death. Kalmia polifolia has poisoned cattle, goats and sheep. For poisoning to occur, the animal must consume 0.3% of its body weight, while a dosage of 2% of an would cause severe sickness.

Kalmia polifolia was planted in Montreal's First Nation Garden, among another 300 species planted.