Mountain Laurel
Kalmia latifolia
Found in forests and woodlands; sandhills. Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition What its natural habitat tells you
85
Keystone
Native to Virginia. 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 101 Virginia counties and cities.
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 Virginia. Shared habitat, not food. 161 animals.
- Field SparrowSpizella pusilla
- Rough-legged HawkButeo lagopus
- Savannah SparrowPasserculus sandwichensis
- Short-eared OwlAsio flammeus
- Swamp SparrowMelospiza georgiana
- Willow FlycatcherEmpidonax traillii
- American CootFulica americana
- American PipitAnthus rubescens
- BobolinkDolichonyx oryzivorus
- Brewer's BlackbirdEuphagus cyanocephalus
- Horned GrebePodiceps auritus
- Horned LarkEremophila alpestris
- KilldeerCharadrius vociferus
- Lincoln's SparrowMelospiza lincolnii
- Rock PigeonColumba livia
- Snowy EgretEgretta thula
- SoraPorzana carolina
Ecological relationships
Who uses this plant?
27CaterpillarsGenus host records with ranges including VA
Genus host records with ranges including VA · 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
- Eupithecia russeliataWhite-Lined Pug
- Hemipachnobia monochromateaSundew Dart
Show all 27
- Hyphantria cuneaFall Webworm
- Morrisonia evictaBicolored Woodgrain
- Nemoria rubrifrontariaRed-Fronted Emerald
- Orgyia leucostigmaWhite-Marked Tussock Moth
- Papilio palamedesPalamedes Swallowtail
- Phlogophora periculosaBrown Angle Shades
- Prionapteryx nebuliferaClouded Veneer Moth
- Probole amicariaFriendly Probole
- Probole nepiasariaHeath Probole
- Pseudexentera cressonianaShagbark Hickory Leafroller
- Sphinx kalmiaeFawn Sphinx, Laurel Sphinx
- Spiramater lutraDarling Mamestra, Splashed Arches, Otter Spiramater, Otter Arches
- Synanthedon rhododendriRhododendron Borer
- Tetracis cachexiataWhite Slant-Line
- Acrobasis amplexella
- 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
| Virginia rank | S5 |
|---|---|
| Global rank | G5 |
| VA 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
- Digital Atlas of the Virginia Flora
- USDA PLANTS
- Vascular Plants of North Carolina (NC Natural Heritage Program)
- Weakley, Flora of the Southeastern United States (2025), Northern Tier edition
- NatureServe Explorer
- 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