MOUNTAIN LAUREL 



ALPINE OR TRAILING AZALEA 



Chamcecistus procumbcns. 



Chamcecistus, meaning ground-cistus. 



A tufted, much-branched, trailing, dwarf, evergreen shrub 

 with branches two to four inches long. Subarctic, found on the 

 summits of the White Mountains, in Labrador, arctic America, 

 Alaska. 



Leaves. — Mostly opposite, crowded, evergreen, linear-oblong, 

 one-sixth to one-fourth an inch long, margin entire, revolute, 

 obtuse at apex ; dark green and shining above, paler beneath ; 

 midrib prominent below. Petioles short. 



Flowers. — July, August. Small, pink or white bells, solitary 

 -or clustered, from terminal buds. 



Calyx. — Five-parted, segments purplish, ovate-lanceolate, per- 

 sistent. 



Corolla. — Broad bell-shaped, pink or white, with five obtuse 

 lobes. 



Stamens. — Five, included, inserted on corolla ; anthers didy- 

 mons. 



Pistil. — Ovary superior, two-celled, style short ; stigma cap- 

 itate. 



Fruit. — Capsule, subglobose, two to three-celled, many- 

 seeded. 



MOUNTAIN LAUREL 



Kdlmia lot (folia. 



Kahnia commemorates the labors of Peter Kalm, a pu- 

 pil of Linnaeus who was an enthusiastic admirer of the 

 plant and who travelled in this country early in the eigh- 

 teenth century. 



A dense, broad shrub, five to ten feet high, with many stiff, 

 crooked branches and a round, compact head ; tolerant of many 

 locations and all soils except those containing lime. Ranges 

 from Newfoundland to Hudson Bay, and along highlands and 



367 



