Ibeatb jfamili?. 



Mountain Laurel. Kahnia laPifoUa. 



Found in rocky pastures, uplands and light woods, and swampy 

 grounds, in June. 



This is a large shrub varying in height from 4 to 8 feet, and occa- 

 sionally taller. Its stalk and branches are more or less twisted and 

 angular in growth, and woody, of a fibre compact and tough ; the old 

 growths are covered with a roughened gray bark. 



The beautiful leaf is evergreen ; of an oval shape, with a tapering 

 tip, an entire margin, strong midrib, a firm fine texture, and a smooth 

 surface. The color is a fine dark green in the old growths, a light 

 vigorous green when new. The leaves, on very short stems, are usually 

 placed alternately, but are sometimes opposite each other, and toward 

 the end of the branches are clustered. 



The corolla is bowl-shaped, with 5 or 6 points ; around the middle 

 of this bowl are 10 little pockets, — each one of which holds the tip of 

 a stamen until it is ready to spring out and scatter its pollen, — these 

 pockets, or sacs, projecting on the outside of the bowl, form little spurs 

 all around it. The color of the flower is white, or pink ; in the bottom 

 of the bowl a 10-pointed star is outlined in dark crimson, and flecks of 

 crimson occur Just above the little pockets. The tiny seed-box in the 

 center is green ; the elastic stamens are silky white ; the little calyx is 

 green; the flower-stems pale and sticky. The flowers form large and 

 conspicuous clusters on the ends of the branches. 



The flowers and buds have a pretty shell-like quality. Shortly 

 after flowering, the vigorous light green shoots put forth, and the ripen- 

 ing seed-boxes take on a crimson hue, making the Laurel pasture all 

 aglow a second time with rich color. This 5-angled seed-box, turned to 

 brown, remains throughout the winter in pleasing contrast to the fine 

 evergreen leafage. 



386 



