Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Found in forests and woodlands; sandhills. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), South Central edition What its natural habitat tells you
81
Keystone
Native to Mississippi. How scores work Is it native here?
Profile 100%
- Height
- 4–15 feet
- Spread
- 4–8 feet
- Light
- Dappled sunlight, Full sun, Partial shade
- Soil moisture
- Somewhat dry to moist
Space about 6 ft apart from its recorded spread, about 3 per 100 sq ft. Enter your bed size for a count
Will it fit your yard?
Poisonous if eaten. Consider children and pets when choosing where to plant. Plant caution source
At a glance
- Life cycle
- Woody perennial
- Leaves
- Evergreen
- Bloom
- March to July
- Fruiting season
- August to October
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Recorded in 20 Mississippi counties.
Natural habitats
Places it grows wild. Not a planting requirement. Each habitat page lists the plants and wildlife also found there.
1 of 2
Forest or woodland where the source does not say how moist or dry.
Dry, deep-sand ridges with longleaf pine and turkey oak, kept open by fire.
Also found with this plant
Wildlife whose habitat models include habitats this plant grows in, in Mississippi. Shared habitat, not food. 128 animals.
- Eastern Screech-owlMegascops asio
- Eastern TowheePipilo erythrophthalmus
- Eastern Wood-peweeContopus virens
- European StarlingSturnus vulgaris
- Golden-crowned KingletRegulus satrapa
- Gray CatbirdDumetella carolinensis
- Great Crested FlycatcherMyiarchus crinitus
- Great Horned OwlBubo virginianus
- Hairy WoodpeckerPicoides villosus
- Hooded MerganserLophodytes cucullatus
- Hooded WarblerWilsonia citrina
- Mourning DoveZenaida macroura
- Northern CardinalCardinalis cardinalis
- Northern FlickerColaptes auratus
- Northern MockingbirdMimus polyglottos
- OspreyPandion haliaetus
- Pileated WoodpeckerDryocopus pileatus
- Purple FinchCarpodacus purpureus
- Red-bellied WoodpeckerMelanerpes carolinus
- Red-headed WoodpeckerMelanerpes erythrocephalus
- Red-tailed HawkButeo jamaicensis
- Red-winged BlackbirdAgelaius phoeniceus
- Ruby-crowned KingletRegulus calendula
- Ruby-throated HummingbirdArchilochus colubris
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
19CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including MS
Genus host records with ranges including MS · Kalmia
- Acleris maculidorsanaStained-Back Leafroller Moth
- Acleris minutaLesser Apple Leaf Folder, Yellowheaded Fireworm
- Archips georgianaFireworm, Georgia Leafroller
- Callophrys augustinusThe Brown Elfin
- Callosamia prometheaPromethea Silkmoth, Promethea Moth
- Darapsa choerilusAzalea Sphinx
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio palamedesPalamedes Swallowtail
Show all 19
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Prionapteryx nebuliferaClouded Veneer Moth
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Pseudexentera cressonianaShagbark Hickory Leafroller
- Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
- Synanthedon rhododendriRhododendron Borer
- Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
- Cenopis karacana
- 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
Direct food only: birds recorded eating this genus across North America. Caterpillars on host plants also feed nesting birds. NC Native Plant Society: butterfly gardening
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
- August
- Fruit ends
- October
Growing sources and scope
- Bloom · “March to July” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Flower color · “Pink, purple or white” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Foliage color · “Green” · USDA PLANTS · Nationwide species characteristics; local growing conditions may vary
- Fruit begins · “August” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- Fruit ends · “October” · Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Carolinas & Georgia edition (ranked first; USDA PLANTS differs) · Carolinas and Georgia
- 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 (ranked first; USDA PLANTS, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Leaves · “Evergreen” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Life cycle · “Woody perennial” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differs)
- 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 (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil · “Moist; Occasionally dry” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox (ranked first; Tennessee Smart Yards, Virginia Cooperative Extension, Virginia DCR Piedmont, Virginia DCR Coastal Plain, Lady Bird Johnson Wildflower Center differ)
- Soil pH · “Acidic” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
- Spread · “4–8 feet” · NC Extension Plant Toolbox
Also known as
Hunter Laurel
Conservation status
| Mississippi rank | S4 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| MS status | Not verified |
| Federal status | Not verified |
In your garden
Will it fit your yard?
Check this plant against your county, sun and soil moisture. Conditions are checked in your browser.
Choose a county to begin.
Sources
- NatureServe Explorer
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025)
- Mississippi occurrence source
- 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