Kalmia microphylla (Hook.) A. Heller
western bog-laurel (alpine laurel; swamp laurel)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
western bog-laurel (alpine laurel; swamp laurel)
Ericaceae (Crowberry family)
Introduction to Vascular Plants
Species Information
General:
Low shrub; stems 10-50 cm tall, much branched; young stems finely hairy but soon becoming glabrous.
Leaves:
Evergreen, opposite, leathery, oblong-lanceolate to narrowly oblong, (0.6) 0.8-4 cm long, (2) 3-11 mm wide, entire, margins often rolled under, shiny, dark green and glabrous above, greyish and very finely and densely short glandular-hairy beneath, often with a prominent midrib; stalks 2-5 mm long.
Flowers:
In terminal 1- to 12-flowered clusters; flower stalks 1-4 cm long, usually glabrous; corollas deep pinkish-rose, saucer-shaped, 1-2 cm wide; calyces deeply 5-lobed, lobes egg-shaped, 2-3 mm long, glabrous or occasionally sparsely and minutely fringed; stamens 10, held in sacs on petals until full bloom, densely hairy just above the base, otherwise glabrous.
Fruits:
Five-valved capsules, nearly globe-shaped, glabrous, about 4 mm wide and 5 mm long.
Notes:
Two subspecies are recognized in BC:
1. Leaves oval to broadly elliptic, usually less than 2 cm long, and less than 2 times as long as wide; calyces less than 7 mm wide; plants occurring E of the Coast-Cascades Range in BC and usually at high elevations..............ssp. microphylla
1. Leaves lance-shaped, usually 2.5 cm long or longer, and 2.5-4 times as long as wide; calyces more than 7 mm wide; plants of coastal BC and intermittently inland, usuallyat low to moderate elevations..................ssp. occidentalis (Small) Taylor & MacBryde
USDA Species Characteristics
Flower Colour:
Purple
Blooming Period:
Late Spring
Fruit/Seed characteristics:
Colour: Brown
Present over the Summer
Source: The USDA
Ecology
Ecological Framework for Kalmia microphylla
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
The table below shows the species-specific information calculated from
original data (BEC database) provided by the BC Ministry of Forests and Range.
(Updated August, 2013)
| Site Information |
Value / Class |
||
|
Avg |
Min |
Max |
|
| Elevation
(metres) |
1040 | 6 | 2400 |
| Slope
Gradient (%) |
6 | 0 | 100 |
|
Aspect (degrees) |
5 | 0 | 360 |
| Soil
Moisture Regime (SMR) [0 - very xeric; 4 - mesic; 8 - hydric] |
6 | 0 | 8 |
| Modal
Nutrient Regime
Class |
B | ||
| #
of field plots species was recorded in: |
877 | ||
| Modal
BEC Zone Class |
CWH | ||
|
All BEC Zones (# of stations/zone) species was recorded in |
AT(9), BAFA(7), BWBS(4), CDF(5), CMA(2), CWH(304), ESSF(266), ICH(78), IDF(4), IMA(4), MH(60), MS(19), SBPS(2), SBS(84), SWB(3) | ||
|
Source:
Klinkenberg 2013
|
|||
Habitat and Range
Peat bogs, wet peaty forests and meadows from the lowland through alpine zones; frequent throughout BC; N to AK, YT and NT, E to NW MB, and S to C CA, NV, UT, and CO.Synonyms
Synonyms and Alternate Names:
Kalmia microphylla subsp. occidentalis (Small) Roy L. Taylor & MacBryde
Kalmia microphylla var. occidentalis (Small) Ebinger
Kalmia occidentalis Small
Kalmia polifolia Wangenh.
Kalmia polifolia subsp. microphylla (Hook.) Calder & Roy L. Taylor
Kalmia polifolia subsp. occidentalis (Small) Abrams
Kalmia polifolia var. microphylla (Hook.) Rehder