Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kalmia carolina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Southern Sheepkill at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kalmia carolina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Kalmia angustifolia var. carolina
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC ERROR) VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-08-002:
Kalmia angustifolia var. caroliniana FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Kalmia angustifolia var. carolina
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kalmia carolina
COMMON NAME:
Southern Sheepkill, Carolina Wicky, Carolina Sheep Laurel, Carolina Bog Myrtle
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_kaca2_001_lvd
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmkcarolina_junkyard4
April Clarendon County SC
The flowers are miniatures of the larger Mountain Laurel (K. latifolia), per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
)
JK Marlow jkm0505l_16
May Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Highly poisonous! Do not ingest, per Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005).
)
Dan Whitten sdw_052521_kalmia
May NC
)
JK Marlow jkm0411a_16
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Lvs coriaceous, green w a bluish tinge, lustrous above, hairy below, whorled, per Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm0411a_17
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
Shrub to 2m tall (though often much shorter ), per Weakley's Flora (2015).
)
JK Marlow jkm0411c_30
November Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
The anthers are tucked into pockets and pop out when touched by insects, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Kalmia carolina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Kalmia carolina
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Kalmia angustifolia var. carolina
SYNONYMOUS WITH (ORTHOGRAPHIC ERROR)
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-08-002:
Kalmia angustifolia var. caroliniana
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Britton & Brown Illus Flora of Northeast US & adjacent Canada (Gleason, 1952)
Kalmia angustifolia var. carolina
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Kalmia carolina
779
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Moist to wet pinelands of the Coastal Plain, pocosin margins (or seemingly in pocosins or swamps because of fire suppression), mountain bogs and fens (and less commonly in rocky areas at high elevations) in the Mountains, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Coastal Plain, uncommon in SC Coastal Plain (rare in Mountains) (rare in GA)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Whorls of 3
Petioles 4-12mm long
FLOWER:
Spring
Reddish-pink
(rarely white)
5 sepals
5-lobed corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
Flowers in axillary racemes
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p307
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p416
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p223
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p110
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p292?
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p185
- Wildflowers of the Carolina Lowcountry (Porcher, 1995) p116
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p180
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p169
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p098
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p27?
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p184
- Wildflowers of the Sandhills Region (Sorrie, 2011) p226
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