47 



ers clustered not at the extreme end of the stem, but at the base of 

 the fresh shoots. It is abundant at low altitudes in both dry and wet 

 soils from Maine to New Jersey; less abundant westward throughout 

 the Great Lakes region and southward to Tennessee and South 

 Carolina. 



GrKBAT LAUREL. 

 Rhododendron maximum L. 



Other names: Laurel (south of Pa.); rosebay; mountain laurel; rho- 

 dodendron; wild rosebay; American rosebay; big laurel (Pa.); big-leaf 



Fig. 27. — Stagger-bush {Pieris mariana), showing 

 flowering branch, one-third natural size. 



Fig. 28. — Branch ivy {Leucothbe catesbaei): a, 

 flowering branch; b, fruiting capsules. 



laurel (Pa.); horse laurel (Pa.); deer tongue; cow plant (Vt.); spoon 

 hutch (N. H.). (Fig. 26.) 



Description and habitat. — A large evergreen bush or small tree, 10 to 

 20 or 30 feet high, with thick leaves, 4 to 10 inches long, and splendid 

 clusters of large, inodorous pale pink or nearly white flowers, blossom- 

 ing in July. A commonly cultivated ornamental tree, native to the 

 Alleghany Mountains, but extending northward in isolated patches to 

 Connecticut and New Hampshire. 



