''Kalmia polifolia'', previously known as ''Kalmia glauca'' and commonly called bog laurel, swamp laurel, or pale laurel, is a perennial evergreen

shrub A shrub (often also called a bush) is a small-to-medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees ...

of cold acidic bogs, in the family Ericaceae. It is native to north-eastern

North America North America is a continent in the Northern Hemisphere and almost entirely within the Western Hemisphere. It is bordered to the north by the Arctic Ocean, to the east by the Atlantic Ocean, to the southeast by South America and the Car ...

, from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador (; french: Terre-Neuve-et-Labrador; frequently abbreviated as NL) is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region ...

Hudson Bay Hudson Bay ( crj, text=ᐐᓂᐯᒄ, translit=Wînipekw; crl, text=ᐐᓂᐹᒄ, translit=Wînipâkw; iu, text=ᑲᖏᖅᓱᐊᓗᒃ ᐃᓗᐊ, translit=Kangiqsualuk ilua or iu, text=ᑕᓯᐅᔭᕐᔪᐊᖅ, translit=Tasiujarjuaq; french: b ...

southwards.

Etymology

The genus 'Kalmia' is named after Pehr Kalm, a Swedish-Finn botanist, who was a student of Linnaeus. The species name, 'polifolia', is Latin for 'pole-leaves' or 'pole-petals'. The former species name, 'glauca', is Latin for gleaming or gray, a word ultimately derived from the Ancient Greek 'γλαυκός', meaning blue-green or blue-gray.

History

The plant was first described by Friedrich Adam Julius von Wangenheim, a German botanist.

Distribution and habitat

''Kalmia polifolia'' is common throughout Northern North American, thriving along the Eastern American states and in Montana, as well as in every Canadian province except in British Columbia, although spottings have been reported of ''Kalmia polifolia'' at Rhododenron Lake, located near Vancouver Island. Within Canada, ''Kalmia polifolia'' is very commonly found in east Nova Scotia where bog conditions are more frequent. ''Kalmia polifolia'' has also been spotted in a bog in Surrey, England.

Description

''Kalmia polifolia'' flowers in April and is pollinated by bees. Bees, however, after pollinating this plant, produce a poison honey. Its seeds ripen in September. These seeds are five-parted, round, and woody. ''Kalmia polifolia'' can grow to be two feet tall. Its leaves are arranged oppositely upon its branch and grow to be an inch to an inch and a half in length and tend to be waxy with an entire and revolute margin. Below each leaf base there are ridges, where it appears as though a part of the leaf is curled around the circumference of the stem. This is especially noticeable lower on the plant. The base of the petiole is pressed against the stem as its flowers cluster in a single terminal bunch, which appears to be pink or purple in colour; the near cup-shaped flower spans about three-eighths of an inch in diameter.

Uses

Bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia) (23945002063)

As medicine

''Kalmia polifolia'' can be used topically for skin wounds, disease, and inflammation, while internal uses may address bleeding and diarrhoea.

As poison

Every part of ''Kalmia polifolia'' is highly toxic and poisonous to animals and persons. Although related to '' Kalmia angustifolia'' (lambkill), it is less toxic. Certain indigenous groups have used the toxicity of the plant's leaves to commit suicide. According to Alaback et al., ''Kalmia polifolia'' contains a grayanotoxin, which when ingested lowers

blood pressure Blood pressure (BP) is the pressure of circulating blood against the walls of blood vessels. Most of this pressure results from the heart pumping blood through the circulatory system. When used without qualification, the term "blood pressure" r ...

, and may cause respiratory problems, dizziness, vomiting, or diarrhea. According to Lewis and Elvin-Lewis, the active compounds within ''Kalmia polifolia'' include

andromedotoxin Grayanotoxins are a group of closely related neurotoxins named after '' Leucothoe grayana'', a plant native to Japan originally named for 19th century American botanist Asa Gray. Grayanotoxin I (grayanotaxane-3,5,6,10,14,16-hexol 14-acetate) is als ...

and arbutin. These compounds cause a slowing of pulse, a lowering of blood pressure, progressive paralysis and death. ''Kalmia polifolia'' has poisoned cattle, goats and sheep. For poisoning to occur, the animal must consume 0.3% of its body weight, while a dosage of 2% of an would cause severe sickness. Symptoms for affected goats include depression, nausea, salivation, vomiting, and grating of teeth. Symptoms for affected sheep include depression, staggering, nausea, recubency, salivation, and vomiting.

As food

While

caribou Reindeer (in North American English, known as caribou if wild and ''reindeer'' if domesticated) are deer in the genus ''Rangifer''. For the last few decades, reindeer were assigned to one species, ''Rangifer tarandus'', with about 10 subspe ...

do not have specialized food habits, they can eat most plants - preferring fungi, green leaves of deciduous shrubs, and new spring growth of sedges. They often eat ''Kalmia polifolia'' in the spring and summer; the plant comprises 11% of their dietary dry-matter protein.

For aesthetics

''Kalmia polifolia'' was planted in Montreal's First Nation Garden, among another 300 species planted.

Gallery

File:Kalmia polifolia 2-eheep (5097472651).jpg File:Bog laurel (Kalmia polifolia) (24276279950).jpg File:Fleurs K polifolia.JPG File:Kalmia polifolia 4 (5098087740).jpg File:The Botanical Magazine, Plate 177 (Volume 5, 1792).png, ''Kalmia polifolia'' (1792) File:45 Kalmia glauca par Pierre-Joseph Redouté.jpeg, ''Kalmia glauca'', by Pierre-Joseph Redouté (1759-1840) File:Kalmia polifolia, by Mary Vaux Walcott.jpg, ''Kalmia polifolia'', by Mary Vaux Walcott (1860-1940)

References

External links

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USDA Plants Profile for ''Kalmia polifolia''Jepson Manual TreatmentUC CalPhotos gallery of ''Kalmia polifolia''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q2358255 polifolia Flora of Eastern Canada Flora of the Northeastern United States Flora of the North-Central United States Flora of the Great Lakes region (North America) Flora of Saint Pierre and Miquelon Flora of the United States Flora without expected TNC conservation status