You can easily see the pronounced white blossoms of mountain laurel gracing roadside hills and while traveling through the heart of the county. You know that the beginning of summer is here when you enjoy viewing this tall flower-bedecked plant.
And, to think that it came down to two choices!
Gov. Gifford Pinchot decided the choice of the official state flower in the 1930s. The General Assembly had passed two bills each naming a different favorite shrub (mountain laurel and the pink azalea). Pinchot chose the former (though according to some accounts, his wife made the call) and signed the bill into law on May 5, 1933.
Mountain laurel is prolific and grows in every county in Pennsylvania. The plant normally begins to bloom late in May and its pink and white blossoms are in evidence well into June.
Mountain laurel is a member of the heath family (Ericaceae). This family of plants contains many of our most common and best-known shrubs including huckleberries, blueberries, azaleas, cranberries and rhododendrons.
It has been called many different names over the course of time. Some of them are ivybush, calico bush, sheep laurel, lambkill, clamoun, and spoonwood. The spoonwood name is because Native Americans used to make spoons from the wood.
The plant is said to be a symbol of perseverance, most likely due to its substantial geographic range that includes arduous conditions. It is also known to be a representative of treachery as it looks beautiful but is extremely poisonous to both humans and animals.
All green parts of the mountain laurel are poisonous and can be fatal to both humans and animals. According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture, “after initial consumption, the victim will experience burning lips, mouth and throat, followed six hours later by nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, low blood pressure, drowsiness, convulsions, weakness, and progressive paralysis, followed by coma and death.
Children have been poisoned by merely sucking on the flowers of this plant. Even honey made from mountain laurel pollen is toxic!”
It is poisonous to several animals, including horses, goats, cattle, deer and monkeys due to its contents of grayanotoxin and arbutin. Necropsy of animals who have died from spoonwood poisoning show gastrointestinal hemorrhage.
Mountain laurel is one of the most beautiful native flowering shrubs and is well displayed as an ornamental in many parks. The stamens of the flowers have an odd, springlike mechanism which spreads pollen when tripped by a bee.
Their stamens act like catapults: the pollen-bearing tips (anthers) are secured in pockets at the edge of the petals, so that when the flower opens, the stalks (filaments) of the stamens arch backward under tension. When a visitor seeks nectar in the center of the flower, its weight dislodges the stamens, which spring up flinging pollen onto the visitor’s body at a speed of about 11.5 feet/second.
If you are not fortunate enough to observe how a stamen reacts with an insect, then try it yourself by tapping the arched stamen with a pen or pencil.
Keep your eyes peeled for this beautiful flower as you travel along Routes 61, 183, 895 and 443. Our state flower is making a command performance this year.
The Link LonkJune 17, 2021 at 05:46PM
https://www.readingeagle.com/news/south-schuylkill-news/naturally-speaking-our-state-flower-is-in-bloom/article_b8233ba4-ccfd-11eb-a90b-7342226618e9.html
Naturally speaking: Our state flower is in bloom - Reading Eagle
https://news.google.com/search?q=Flower&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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