kalmia

American  

[kal-mee-uh] / ˈkæl mi ə /

noun

1. any North American evergreen shrub belonging to the genus Kalmia, of the heath family, having showy flowers, as the mountain laurel.

---

kalmia British  

/ ˈkælmɪə /

noun

1. any evergreen ericaceous shrub of the North American genus Kalmia, having showy clusters of white or pink flowers See also mountain laurel

---

Etymology

Origin of kalmia

< New Latin (Linnaeus), after Peter Kalm (1715–79), Swedish botanist; see -ia

Example Sentences

I observed, in the crop of one of the pheasants, some bright green leaves, and some buds, which I suspected to be the leaves and buds of the kalmia latifolia, a poisonous shrub.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 02 by Edgeworth, Maria

The kalmia and the alder gave undergrowth and brilliancy to the foliage.

From The Entailed Hat Or, Patty Cannon's Times by Townsend, George Alfred

Five or six species of oak, several kinds of walnut trees, beeches, chestnuts, and dogwood, formed the thick wood, the undergrowth of which consisted of Rhododendron maximum, kalmia, rhus, and tall juniper.

From Travels in the Interior of North America, Part I, (Being Chapters I-XV of the London Edition, 1843) Early Western Travels, 1748-1846, Volume XXII by Maximilian, Alexander Philipp

To-morrow came; but, as the leaves of the kalmia latifolia were out of my sight, they went out of my mind.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 02 by Edgeworth, Maria

Bryanthus, a beautiful flowering heathwort, flourishes a few hundred feet above the timberline, accompanied with kalmia and spiraea.

From Steep Trails California, Utah, Nevada, Washington, Oregon, the Grand Canyon by Muir, John