2024 Author: Gavin MacAdam | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 13:38
Wedge-shaped Kalmia (lat. Kalmia cuneata) - is a deciduous shrub from the genus Kalmia (Latin Kalmia), representing the Heather family (Latin Ericaceae) on the planet. Perennial wedge-shaped Kalmia sheds its leaves for the winter, giving birth to new ones in spring, which is fundamentally different from most plant species of the Kalmia genus. As for its inflorescences, they are formed by white saucer-shaped flowers typical of this genus. Wedge-shaped Kalmia belongs to plants disappearing from the face of the Earth, since it has many enemies, including, it does not withstand competition with other marsh plants.
What's in your name
Per Kalm, a botanist of Swedish-Finnish origin, a colleague of the more famous botanist, Karl Linnaeus, by his activity in cultivating exotic plants brought by him from America, was honored to immortalize his glorious name in the name of the genus of plants of the same type in their morphology. This is how the genus of plants with the Latin name "Kalmia" ("Kalmia") appeared.
The specific epithet “cuneata” (“wedge-shaped”) specifies the shape of the leaves of this species of the genus Kalmiya. Although the more significant difference from other species of the genus is the deciduous nature of the shrub, while the shape of the leaves can be confused with the shape of the leaves of other members of the genus.
In the English-speaking environment, the plant is known under the general name "Whitewicky", one of the possible translations of which could be "White wick". This name, most likely, was born in the homeland of the plant - two states of the United States: North Carolina and South Carolina, in which only wedge-shaped Calmia can be found in the wild.
Description
Wedge-shaped squid is naturally erect shrubs, rarely branched, growing in bush bogs, along small streams, on the sandy shores of sea bays.
She, like the Russian plant Ivan-chai, is one of the first to appear on lands devastated by forest fires. The perfection of human skill in fighting fires reduces the plant's chances of existence, since under standard conditions it has many enemies trying to oust the wedge-shaped Kalmia from nature. Therefore, wedge-shaped Kalmia belongs to the risk group of plants disappearing from the earth's surface. The plant is rarely cultivated, although it is quite decorative.
This is perhaps the only species in the Kalmiya genus that has changed traditions and sheds its foliage for the winter. The height of an erect shrub varies from 10 to 100 cm. Shoots of young plants are reddish and covered with glandular hairs.
Narrow-oval, obovate or obovate leaves are almost sessile, with short petioles (from 2 to 4 mm), or sessile. The dark green surface of the leaf blade in late autumn and early winter provides the wilting nature with golden and scarlet colors. The reverse side of the leaf plate is paler and covered with glandular hairs.
In summer, relatively large flowers (up to 1.5 cm in diameter) bloom on short pedicels (from 1 to 3 mm), gathering in groups of 3 to 10 pieces. They form one-sided corymbose-carpal inflorescences in the leaf axils. The flowers look like miniature saucers of an elite white or creamy white color. The "bottoms" of the flower saucers are highlighted with a dark red coquettish stripe. The petals are protected by oblong, pointed sepals, usually green. 10 brave stamens stick out from the center of the saucers.
This is how these simple but very elegant flowers look in the photo:
Paradoxes of nature
Fire helped the caveman become modern man. It heats our homes, helps transform food into foods that are easier for the human body to digest.
At the same time, fire poses a threat to all life on the planet, when the tongues of its flame cannot be curbed. But it turns out that such a natural disaster for many is a boon for the wedge-shaped Kalmiya, giving her a chance to survive among her enemies.
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Small-leaved Kalmia
Small-leaved Kalmia (lat.Kalmia microphylla) - undersized shrub with small leaves from the genus Kalmia (Latin Kalmia), representing the Heather family on Earth (Latin Ericaceae). The noble appearance of the plant is very deceiving and hides a poisonous plant behind a pleasant facade, with which one should very carefully communicate.
Multifoliate Kalmia
Many-leaved Kalmia (lat.Kalmia polifolia) - an evergreen plant with a compact and dense crown from the Kalmia genus, which is listed in the Heather family (Latin Ericaceae). Unlike many species of the genus Kalmia, which prefer well-drained soils, which guarantee the absence of destructive dampness, the multifoliate Kalmia chose the cold swamps of North America for its life.
Boxwood Kalmia
Box-leaved Kalmia (lat.Kalmia buxifolia) - an evergreen shrub that loves to mislead botanists and people far from science, with its great variability in the natural conditions of the wild. Although botanists tried to separate this species into an independent genus, the plant's genetic data indicate that it belongs to the Kalmia genus, which belongs to the Heather family (Latin Ericaceae).
Broadleaf Kalmia
Broad-leaved Kalmia (lat.Kalmia latifolia) - an evergreen plant from the genus Kalmia, belonging to the Heather family (Latin Ericaceae). It is represented in nature by a shrub with numerous gnarled trunks, or small trees. The plant's stems are adorned with broad, glossy leaves year-round, and spring adds a vibrant bloom lasting several weeks.
Narrow-leaved Kalmia
Narrow-leaved Kalmia (lat.Kalmia angustifolia) - an evergreen shrub from the genus Kalmia (Kalmia), ranked by botanists in the Heather family (lat.Ericaceae). In early summer, Kalmia narrow-leaved pleases the world with thick clusters of corymbose inflorescences, consisting of small raspberry-pink flowers, graceful and attractive.
