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Picture of the day -
June 27, 2006
Mountain Laurel Blossoms
The Mountain Laurels (kalmia latifolia) are now in full bloom in our part
of the Appalachians. Their large clusters of white and pink blossoms can be
found dotting the mountainsides as well as the deepest "hollers". One especially
colorful place right now is the
Backbone Rock National
Recreation Area in
Sutherland, TN.
Cheria and I visited the Backbone Rock area a few days ago to take some pictures
of Beaver Dam Creek, and as we were walking up the trail looking for a good spot
we saw mountain laurel blossoms on our left and right. They were virtually
everywhere we looked! We both stopped in several places along the way to take
pictures of the beautiful flowers, and the result is the Picture Of The
Day.
Mountain Laurels grow all along the
Appalachian Mountain
range, but they vary a bit from north to south. While they grow into a small
tree in the southern Appalachians, they remain the size of shrubs in New
England. But the smaller northern variety is just as beautiful as our own, a
fact that prompted the state of Connecticut to designate it as their state
flower!
The wood of the Mountain Laurel is very hard and fine-grained which makes it
especially well-suited for carving. When Europeans first arrived in the
Appalachian region they were surprised to discover that the Native Americans
made very nice spoons from the hard, gnarled wood, and to this day the Mountain
Laurel is referred to as spoon wood by many.
I grew up in an area where Mountain Laurels are plentiful, so I didn't really
appreciate their beauty and significance until I moved away from here and returned
some years later. These days I enjoy seeing them when we're out and about, and I
hope we never lose them to some type of blight or as a result of human
"progress".
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