Sheep Laurel (Kalmia angustifolia)

Sheep Laurel is an evergreen shrub with small, deep pink, saucer-shaped flowers in dense clusters. The glossy, narrowly-oval, leathery leaves are blue-green and turn reddish-green to purple in fall. Slow-growing. Because of its colonial habit, Sheep Laurel can form sizable stands. The flowers are miniatures of the larger Mountain Laurel (Kalmia latifolia). The genus name honors Peter Kalm, a student of Linnaeus, who traveled and collected plants in the Americas in the 18th century.

Larval Host: Columbia silkmoth, Northern Blue butterfly (Lycaeides idas)