Stats

Lifespan: Up to 75 yrs
Size: Medium
Diet: Photosynthetic
Biome: Temperate forest
Range: North America
Movement: Sessile
Breeding: Seeds
Defense: Toxins
Status: Common

About

An evergreen shrub of eastern woodlands whose spring clusters of cup-shaped flowers hide a spring-loaded trick: each stamen is bent back under tension and snaps forward to dust visiting bees with pollen.

Life cycle

1.
seed
A dormant seed waits for water and warmth before germinating.
2.
sprout
A first shoot emerges with cotyledon leaves and a tap root reaching down.
3.
sapling
A young plant grows true leaves and a stem or trunk, putting on height each season.
4.
mature
Fully grown, flowering or fruiting at adult size.

Learn more

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Taxonomy

Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Tracheophyta
Class: Magnoliopsida
Order: Ericales
Family: Ericaceae
Genus: Kalmia
Species: Kalmia latifolia