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.

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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

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Etymology

Origin of kalmia

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

Example Sentences

The azalia, the shumac, and every variety of that beautiful mischief, the kalmia, are in equal profusion.

From Domestic Manners of the Americans by Trollope, Fanny

On the borders of little streams larger plants flourish--lupines, daisies, asters, goldenrods, hairbell, mountain columbine, potentilla, astragalus and a few gentians; with charming heathworts--bryanthus, cassiope, kalmia, vaccinium in boulder-fringing rings or bank covers.

From The Yosemite by Muir, John

To the left, covering the mountain-side, were masses of evergreen kalmia, and above them tall and leafless trees in whose branches the wind made a grating sound.

From The Long Roll by Johnston, Mary

They form delightfully smooth, level sods in which one finds two or three species of gentian and as many of purple and yellow orthocarpus, violet, vaccinium, kalmia, bryanthus, and lonicera.

From My First Summer in the Sierra by Muir, John

He replied, 'Madam, the kalmia has precisely the colours of a seraph's wing.'

From Evolution, Old & New Or, the Theories of Buffon, Dr. Erasmus Darwin and Lamarck, as compared with that of Charles Darwin by Butler, Samuel