AZALEA 



257 



Pale Kalmia, Pale or Swamp 'Laurel' (435) — Kalmia glaiica 

 or polifolia — is a small shrub 1 to 2 feet high with 2-edged stems, opposite 

 or whorled evergreen leaves i to 2 inches long, white beneath with a 

 bloom which can be rubbed oiif ; these leaves have rolled edges. The 

 flowers are on slender stems, red or purplish in color, in teiTuinal clusters 

 (umbels) in summer and range from I to | inch broad. 



Hairy Kalmia or ' Laurel ' (436) — Kalmia hirsuta • — is a branching 

 shrub 1 to 2 feet high with alternate evergreen small leaves, ] to -| inch 

 long. Both leaves and stems are covered with hairs. The flowers, i to 

 I inch broad, are usually solitary in the axils of the leaves, rose-purple 

 in color. 



Fig. 437. — White Swamp Azalea. 



Fig. 438. — Smooth Azalea. 



Deciduous-leaved Kalmia or White Wicky — Kalmia cuneata — is a 

 low shrub with deciduous mostly alternate wedge-shaped leaves | to 2 

 inches long. The flowers are in small lateral clusters, white or pinkish in 

 color, about | inch broad, in spring. 



The last two species are probably hardy only in the middle states and 

 in the South and are the least ornamental of any of the Kalmias. [Seeds.] 



Azalea. The Azaleas are among the most interesting of flowering 



shrubs. In the size and abundance of bloom and in the brightness and 



variety of coloring there is hardly anything in the vegetable kingdom 



which can equal the beauty of this group of plants. Some species are 



apgar's shrubs — 17 



