Complimentary 
NEW SERIES VOL. IX 
HARVARD U 
BULLETIN 
OF 
POPULAR INFORMATION 
JAMAICA PLAIN, MASS. JUNE 15, 1923 
The Mountain Laurel {Kalmia latifolia) at the northern base of Hem¬ 
lock Hill is well covered with flower-buds which will have opened when 
this Bulletin reaches its Massachusetts readers. 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 ever¬ 
green 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 gardeners, of the 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 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 Rhododendron. 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. aZ6a), 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 choco¬ 
late band (var. fuscata). There is a dwarf form (var. myrtifolia) with 
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