mountain laurel

American  

noun

1. a North American laurel, Kalmia latifolia, having terminal clusters of rose to white flowers: the state flower of Connecticut and Pennsylvania.

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mountain laurel British  

noun

1. Also called: calico bush.  any of various ericaceous shrubs or trees of the genus Kalmia, esp K. latifolia of E North America, which has leathery poisonous leaves and clusters of pink or white flowers

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Etymology

Origin of mountain laurel

An Americanism dating back to 1750–60

Example Sentences

The album is named Laurel Hell, after a folk term for areas of the southern Appalachians, where the mountain laurel grows so close and thickly that it is almost impossible to pass.

From BBC • Feb. 1, 2022

He pushed through the pain and we eventually hiked 55 miles through a tunnel of flowering rhododendron and mountain laurel.

From Los Angeles Times • Nov. 25, 2021

Hebrew for “peak”, Pisgah’s half-million acres stretch up the highest summits in the east, and down potpourri valleys that bloom pink and white in summer with rhododendron and mountain laurel.

From The Guardian • May 25, 2018

The roadsides bloom with a seasonal progression of wildflowers — from early trillium through azaleas and mountain laurel to black-eyed Susans and goldenrods.

From Washington Post • Aug. 15, 2016

And he was just about to do that when a mountain laurel planted near the corner of the house caught his attention.

From "Small Steps" by Louis Sachar