The season of mountain laurel

Posted 8/21/12

REGION — The sides of the roads are filled with pink and white blooms as mountain laurel is blooming in the shade of the forests that cover the hills here. Mountain laurel is the state flower of …

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The season of mountain laurel

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REGION — The sides of the roads are filled with pink and white blooms as mountain laurel is blooming in the shade of the forests that cover the hills here. Mountain laurel is the state flower of Pennsylvania and Connecticut, and its range runs from southern Maine to northern Florida.

According to the U.S. Forest Service, this native American plant is poisonous to some animals. The service says, “The mountain laurel’s leaves, buds, flowers and fruits are poisonous and may be lethal to livestock and humans. However, white-tailed deer, eastern cottontails, black bear, and ruffed grouse are known to utilize this species especially as winter forage or during years of food shortages.”

Wikipedia also says the flower has an unusual way of spreading its pollen. “As the flower grows, the filaments of its stamens are bent and brought into tension. When an insect lands on the flower, the tension is released, catapulting the pollen forcefully onto the insect. Experiments have shown the flower capable of flinging its pollen up to 15 cm.”

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