Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. II 
NO. 8 
ARNOLD ARBORETUM 
HARVARD UNIVERSITY 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. JUNE 15. 1916 
Laurels. Rarely if ever before have the Arboretum Laurels {Kalmia 
latifolia) been as full of flower-buds as they are now, and by the time 
this bulletin reaches its Massachusetts readers many of the plants will 
be covered with flowers. The flowering of the Laurels is the last of 
the great Arboretum flower shows of the year, and none of those 
which precede it are more beautiful, for the Mountain Laurel, or the 
Calico Bush as it is often called, is in the judgment of many flower- 
lovers the most beautiful of all North American shrubs or small trees. 
Many Rhododendrons have larger leaves and larger and more brilliantly 
colored flowers, but of all the broad-leaved evergreen plants which can 
be grown successfully in this climate the Laurel is the handsomest and 
most satisfactory. It is not perhaps strange that so little attention 
has been paid to it by American gardeners for the American garden- 
ers, of earlier generations at least, derived their inspiration almost 
entirely from England and usually despised American plants as too 
common for their attention. For some reason which it is not easy to 
explain Kalmia latifolia has never been a popular plant in England 
where it is still not often seen and where it certainly grows less freely 
than many species and hybrids of the Rhododendrons. For this reason, 
perhaps, no distinct forms of the Laurel and no hybrids have been 
developed by cultivators, and the few recognized variations in the 
flowers and leaves have all been found on wild plants. Of these 
there are forms with pure white flowers (var. alba) and there is a form 
with deep pink, nearly red, flowers and rather dark leaves (var. rubra). 
Between these extremes there are others with flowers of all shades 
of pink, and there is one with flowers conspicuously marked by a 
chocolate band (var. fuscata). There is a dwarf form (var. myrtifolia) 
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