Great laurel

Description: Great laurel is a species of Rhododendron native to the Appalachians of eastern North America, from Alabama north to coastal Nova Scotia. Great laurel is an evergreen shrub growing to 4 m, rarely 10 m, tall. The leaves are 9–19 cm long and 2–4 cm broad. The flowers are 2.5–3 cm diameter, white, pink or pale purple, often with small greenish-yellow spots. The fruit is a dry capsule 15–20 mm long, containing numerous small seeds. The leaves can be poisonous. Leaves are sclerophyllous, simple, alternate, and oblong (10 to 30 cm long, 5 to 8 cm wide). It retains its waxy, deep-green leaves for up to 8 years, but once shed are slow to decompose. It produces large, showy, white to purple flowers each June.

Locations in Campus: Picture taken at the North of 1903 Hall and next to Walker Hall.

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