Sheep Laurel; Lambkill (Kalmia angustifoha ) is a 
small shrubby species, ranging from 8 to 36 inches high. 
Besides the common names given above, it is less often 
known as ‘ £ Sheep Poison ” and “ Wicky,” a rather sin¬ 
ister lot of names to be applied to a shrub with such 
handsome flowers. 
All of the laurels have dangerous properties, the 
juices of the leaves being very poisoi aus. It is also 
claimed that honey made by bees, feeding on the nectar 
from laurel blossoms, is also poisonous. This species 
gets its many names, referring to its destructive effects 
on sheep, because it grows in abundance in pastures 
suitable only for the pasturage of sheep. The leaves of 
this small laurel look tempting but are very often fatal 
to the animals eating them. 
Their shapes, forms and mechanisms are about like 
those of the Mountain Laurel, but the color is a beau¬ 
tiful, deep pink; little red anthers fit snugly in the ten 
little pockets formed for them in the surface of the 
corolla. Sheep Laurel is common from Lab. to Ont. 
and southwards, blooming in June and July. 
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