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

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

kalmia

Many flowering and fruit-bearing shrubs of the heath family add to the beauty of the mountainous districts, rhododendron and kalmia often forming impenetrable thickets.

From Encyclopaedia Britannica, 11th Edition, Volume 2, Slice 3 "Apollodorus" to "Aral" by Various

I put off the examination of the kalmia latifolia till the day after.

From Tales and Novels — Volume 02 by Maria Edgeworth

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 Samuel Butler

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 Maria Edgeworth

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 Mary Johnston

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