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Mountain Laurel

Connecticut State Flower

Mountain laurel flowers; photo by Tim Singer on Fickr (noncommercial use permitted with attribution / share alike). All State Flowers

Official State Flower of Connecticut

Connecticut designated mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia) as the official state flower in 1907. The mountain laurel is one of the most beautiful of native American shrubs (also a state symbol of Pennsylvania). All State Flowers

Mountain laurel is also called ivybush, calico bush, sheep laurel, lambkill, clamoun, and spoonwood (Native Americans used to make spoons from the wood). The fragrant star-shaped white and pink flowers have attracted travelers since early colonial days (first recorded in America in 1624). Mountain laurel is an evergreen shrub native to the eastern United States (from southern Maine to northern Florida and west to Indiana and Louisiana).

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