Kalmia latifolia L.

Horticultural & Botanical History

‘Professor Kalm, (in honour of whom Linnaeus, as before has been observed, named this genus of plants) in his travels into North-America, published in English by Mr. Forster, relates that he found this species in various provinces of that extensive continent, as Pensylvania, New-Jersey, and New-York, growing most commonly on the sides of hills, sometimes in woods; that it flourished most on the northern sides of the hills, especially where they were interfered by rivulets; he observes, that when all the other trees had lost their ornaments, this enlivened the woods by the verdure of its foliage, and that about the month of May, it was covered with a profusion of blossoms of unrivalled beauty.’  [BM t.175/1792].  Introduced to Britain in 1734.  [JD]. 

History at Camden Park

Kalmia latifolia is marked with a ‘c’ in an 1836 edition of Loddiges’ catalogue held at Camden Park [CPA].  In William Macarthur’s code, used and explained elsewhere, this means grown at Camden.  It is almost certain that it was grown in the gardens around this time but may have been short-lived as it did not appear in the catalogues. 

Notes