The southwestern portion of our state boast geographic names like Laurel Mountain, Laurel Highlands and Laurel Summit, but many other regions around the state also contain an abundance of these native plants.
Location and environmental elements affect the peak blooming season. In the summertime, a drive through the forests of north central Pennsylvania could reveal football-field size blankets of laurel in full bloom beneath forest trees. The Pocono region is another excellent area that offers a chance to appreciate the splendor of these wildflowers. Any state park near you should have more information about laurel in your area.
These perennial evergreen shrubs were given the official honor as our state flower by the General Assembly on May 5, 1933. Mountain laurel, Kalmia latifolia L. var. laevipes Fern., was named after Swedish born botanist Peter Kalm. On expedition to North America between 1748 and 1751, Kalm visited Pennsylvania and several other states. He obtained specimens of over 300 plants, including mountain laurel. The plants were taken back to Europe. There, famed taxonomist Carolus Linnaeus named the plant after Kalm; latifolia meaning broad-leaved.
In addition to mountain laurel, there are several species of Kalmia found in the Northeastern United States. Common names and qualities of the various species sometimes are interchanged with one another. Lambkill Kalmia angustifolia L. is a smaller species and bog laurel Kalmia polifolia Wangenh., are both found in Pennsylvania.
Great laurel Rhododendron maximum L., and mountain laurel belong to the Ericaceae family. In the wild these two plants are often found growing along side one another. The Ericaceae family includes some plants with delicious, edible fruit. Blueberry, huckleberry and cranberry all belong to the same family as mountain laurel, but don't eat the fruit of our state flower.
The plant is toxic to animals, including humans. History reveals that juice made from mountain laurel leaves was used by Indians to commit suicide. Even honey made from our state flower is reported to be harmful.
Our state animal, the whitetail deer, has been known to lightly browse the foliage of mountain laurel, but should deer rely heavily on this plant for food it could be quite harmful to them. On the other hand, the ruffed grouse, our state bird, is dependent on mountain laurel for winter-feeding without any obvious effect on them.
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