Ericaceae

Alpine laurel

Kalmia microphylla (Hook.) A.Heller

Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Kalmia

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Alpine laurel (Kalmia microphylla) — FlowerPhoto: Brian Finzel, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist

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Common names

By language (1)

English: Alpine laurel, Bog laurel, Swamp-laurel, Western bog-laurel, Western laurel

Synonyms

Kalmia glauca var. microphylla Hook.
Kalmia polifolia subsp. microphylla (Hook.) Calder & Roy L.Taylor
Kalmia polifolia var. microphylla (Hook.) Rehder

Flowers

In flower: May to July (from 1,073 flowering iNaturalist observations worldwide)
Flower colour: purple (USDA PLANTS Database)

Characteristics

Growth habit: Shrub, Subshrub
Lifespan: Perennial
In the US and Canada: Alaska: native, Canada: native, Lower 48 states: native

Photos

FlowerPhoto: Brian Finzel, CC BY-SA 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Ben Sims, CC0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: rosaceae_roberts, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
FlowerPhoto: Leanne Stacy Reitan, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Sam Beaumont, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Cecelia Alexander, CC0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Jared Shorma, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons
Photo: Matt Berger, CC BY 4.0, from iNaturalist
Photo: Walter Siegmund, CC BY-SA 3.0, from Wikimedia Commons

More in Kalmia

Sources: classification, synonyms from World Flora Online Plant List (2026-06, CC0 1.0); common names, popularity from Wikidata (2026-10-26, CC0 1.0); common names, US characteristics from USDA PLANTS Database (2025-05-29, CC0 1.0). About our plant data.