Poisonous if eaten. Consider children and pets when choosing where to plant. Plant caution source
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
22CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including KY
Genus host records with ranges including KY · Kalmia
- Acleris maculidorsanaStained-Back Leafroller Moth
- Acleris minutaLesser Apple Leaf Folder, Yellowheaded Fireworm
- Archips georgianaFireworm, Georgia Leafroller
- Argyrotaenia marianaGray-Banded Leafroller Moth
- Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
- Callosamia prometheaPromethea Silkmoth, Promethea Moth
- Cladara limitariaMottled Gray Carpet, Yellow-Lined Conifer Looper, Yellow-Lined Forest Looper, Black-Angled Wave
- Darapsa choerilusAzalea Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
Show all 22
- Nemoria rubrifrontariaRed-Fronted Emerald
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Probole nepiasariaHeath Probole
- Pseudexentera cressonianaShagbark Hickory Leafroller
- Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
- Cenopis karacana
- Olethreutes melanomesum
- Paralobesia rhoifructana
6BeesSoutheastern regional records
Southeastern regional records · Kalmia
Individual names are not available yet.
Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
3Specialist beesPollen specialists
Pollen specialists · Kalmia
- Andrena bradleyi
- Andrena kalmiae
- Colletes productus
3BirdsRecorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim
Recorded genus food-resource interactions; not a state feeding claim · Kalmia
- Bonasa umbellusRuffed Grouse
- Lagopus lagopusWillow Ptarmigan
- Lagopus leucuraWhite-tailed Ptarmigan
No records yet · Ants · Beetles · Flies · Adult butterflies / moths · Other wasps · Other insects
Growing and identification
Plant details
- Family
- Ericaceae
- Hardiness
- Zones 4a–9b
- Soil pH
- Acidic
- Flower color
- Pink, purple or white
- Growth rate
- Slow
- Growth habit
- Several stems
- Foliage color
- Green
- Fruit begins
- Spring
- Fruit ends
- Summer
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “Mid spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Flower color · “Pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “Spring” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit ends · “Summer” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth habit · “Several stems” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Growth rate · “Slow” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Hardiness · “Zones 4a–9b” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Height · “4–15 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Light · “Dappled sunlight (shade through upper canopy all day); Full sun (6 or more hours of direct sunlight a day); Partial shade (direct sunlight only part of the day, 2-6 hours)” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Hunter Laurel; Mountain Laurel
Conservation status
| Kentucky rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| KY status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
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Sources
- tnky_atlas
- usda
- nc_flora
- Shropshire & Tallamy 2025, Lepidoptera of North America north of Mexico, ZooKeys 1261 (ODbL)
- Noori, Seltmann & Orr 2026, A curated and integrated dataset for exploring global bee-plant interactions (GloBI), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Smith, Bachelder, Russell, Morales, Mosher & Seltmann 2024, Bee-Specialization-Modeling v0.6.1 (specialist host table compiled from J. Fowler's pollen specialist bee lists), Zenodo, CC BY 4.0
- Hurlbert, Olsen, Sawyer & Winner 2021, Avian Diet Database, Scientific Data 8: 260 (CC0)
- Narango, Tallamy & Shropshire 2020, Few keystone plant genera support the majority of Lepidoptera species, Nature Communications