plant-banner1

NC Native Plant Society:
Plant Details

Kalmia buxifolia [= Leiophyllum buxifolium]

Sand-myrtle, Sand Myrtle

Scientific Name:

Kalmia buxifolia [= Leiophyllum buxifolium]

Genus:

Kalmia

Species Epithet:

buxifolia

Common Name:

Sand-myrtle, Sand Myrtle

Plant Type

Shrub

Life Cycle

Perennial

Plant Family

Ericaceae (Heath Family)

Native/Alien:

NC Native

Size:

1-3 ft., 3-6 ft.

Bloom Color(s):

White, Pink

Light:

Sun - 6 or more hours of sun per day, Part Shade - 2 to 6 hours of sun per day

Soil Moisture:

Dry, Moist

Bloom Time:

March, April, May, June

Growing Area:

Mountains, Piedmont, Sandhills, Coastal Plain

Habitat Description:

Locally abundant but very restricted in wet (spodosol) pinelands of the outer Coastal Plain (in Brunswick and Carteret counties, NC), locally common in relatively dry sandhills in a few locations in the Sandhills, disjunct in the Piedmont on a few quartzite monadnocks, fairly common in the mountains on rock outcrops at high to moderate elevations (on a wide variety of rock types) (Weakley 2015). Uncommon in NC Mountains, rare in Piedmont, Sandhills, and Coastal Plain.

Leaf Arrangement:

Alternate

Leaf Retention:

Evergreen

Leaf Type:

Leaves veined, not needle-like or scale-like

Leaf Form:

Simple

Life Cycle:

Perennial

Wildlife Value:

Has some wildlife value

Landscape Value:

Not Recommended for home landscapes

State Rank:

S3: Vulnerable (*Key)

Global Rank:

G4 - Apparently Secure (*Key)

State Status:

W6: Watch List: Regionally Rare (*Key)

In bloom

Formerly Leiophyllum buxifolium, Sand Myrtle has an odd, disjunct distribution. In the outer coastal plain of Carteret and Brunswick Counties where this was taken, it is restricted to wet pinelands.

image

D. Paynter, April 2010, Brunswick Co

Links:

USDA PLANTS Database Record



Permalink - (right click to save this page to your bookmarks)

<<< PREVIOUS

NEXT >>>

back to top
go to plant details search
go to plant images search
go to gallery home
back to Initial k Gallery
back to orchids
back to Carnivorous Plants
back to Trilliums