The genus Kalmia contains about seven species native to North America. Mountain laurel is the only species that attains tree size; the other six are shrubs. The genus Kalmia was dedicated by Linnaeus to his student Peter Kalm (1716–1779), a Swedish botanist who traveled and collected in Canada and the eastern United States.
Other Common Names: American briar, American
laurel, big leaved ivy, burl laurel, calico bush, calico-flower,
calico-tree, ivy, ivy bush, ivy leaf laurel, ivywood, kalmia,
lambkill, laurel, laurelwood, mountain, mountain ivy, pale laurel,
poison ivy, poison laurel, root laurel, sheep laurel, small laurel,
spoonwood, wicky.
Distribution: Southeast Maine west to New York, Ohio and southern Indiana south to western Tennessee, eastern Mississippi and southeast Louisiana east to northern Florida and Georgia.
The Tree: Mountain laurel is a large shrub, occasionally reaching 40 ft (12 m) tall and 2 ft (0.6 m) in diameter in the eastern United States. The leaves, buds, flowers and fruits are poisonous to humans and cattle, but not to indigenous wildlife such as deer. Mountain laurel has leathery, evergreen leaves and very showy flower clusters, making it a favorite plant for ornamental purposes. It prefers acid soils from lowlands to 4,000 ft (1,219 m) elevations. It grows in association with oaks, tulip poplar, beech, sugar maple, white pine and sourwood.
General Wood Characteristics: The wood of mountain laurel is heavy, hard, and strong but rather brittle, with a close, straight grain. It has a light yellow sapwood and a yellow-brown heartwood, spotted with red.
Weighta
Weight
Moisture Specific lb/ft3 kg/m3
content gravity
Green 0.62 62 993
12% 0.68 48 769
Ovendry 0.74 NA NA
aReference (59).
Mechanical propertiesa
Property Green Dry
MOE 0.92 106 6.343 GPa 1.20 106 8.274 GPa
lbf/in2 lbf/in2
MOR 8.40 103 57.918 MPa 11.1 103 76.535 MPa
lbf/in2 lbf/in2
C| | 4.31 103 29.717 MPa 5.92 103 40.818 MPa
lbf/in2 lbf/in2
C 1.11 103 7.653 MPa 1.82 103 12.549 MPa
lbf/in2 lbf/in2
WML 12.5 86.188 kJ/m3 10.3 71.019
in-lbf/in3 in-lbf/in3 kJ/m3
Hardness 1,300 lbf 5,782.40 N 1,790 lbf 7,961.92 N
Shear| | 1.67 103 11.514 MPa NA NA
lbf/in2
aReference (59).
Drying and shrinkagea,b
Percentage of shrinkage
(green to final moisture
content)
Type of 0% MC 6% MC 20% MC
shrinkage
Tangential 8.0 NA NA
Radial 5.6 NA NA
Volumetric 14.4 NA NA
aMountain laurel will dry well if
debarked and split.
bReference (59).
Working Properties: Works well with carving tools or lathe.
Durability: No information available at this time.
Preservation: No information available at this time.
Uses: Substitute wood for briar pipes, small objects and novelties, tool handles, woodenware, fuel.
Toxicity: No information available at this time.
Additional Reading: 29, 55, 68, 74. 55, 66, 68, 74, 79. 28, 29, 42, 43, 44, 48, 50, 55, 56, 68, 72, 73, 74, 79, 92, 97, 102. 74, 75, 77, 99, 106. 101.