The low Laurel, or small Kalmia, is plainly one of nature’s favorite
productions; for, the wilder and ruder the situation, the more luxuriant
is this plant and the more beautiful are its flowers. These are of a
deep rose-color, arranged in crowded whorls around the extremities of
the branches, with the recent shoot containing a tuft of newly formed
leaves surmounting each cluster of flowers. This plant, though not
celebrated in horticultural literature or song, is one of the most
exquisite productions of nature. Many other shrubs which are more showy
are not to be compared with this in the delicate structure of its
flowers and in the beauty of their arrangement and colors. Of this
species the most beautiful individuals are found on the outer edge of
their groups.
There has been much speculation about the supposed poisonous qualities
of this plant and its allied species. Nuttall thought its flowers the
source of the deleterious honey discovered in the nests of certain wild
bees. There is also a general belief that its leaves are poisonous to
cattle and flocks. But all positive evidence is wanting to support any
of these notions. The idea associated with the name of this species is a
vulgar error arising from a corruption of the generic name, from which
Lambkill may be thus derived,—Kalmia, Kallamia, Killamia, Killam,
Lambkill. There is no other way of explaining the origin of its common
English name. I have never been able to discover an authentic account,
and have never known an instance of the death of a sheep or a lamb from
eating the leaves of this plant. It is an error having its origin in a
false etymology; and half the notions that prevail in the world with
regard to the medical virtues and other properties of plants have a
similar foundation.
It is stated in an English manual of Medical Botany that the brown
powder that adheres to the petioles of the different species of Kalmia,
Andromeda, and Rhododendron is used by the North American Indians as
snuff.
[Illustration: KALMIA.]