mystery bush
Steve Heller
Hi all,
I'm not a regular on this group, but have an important
question about a mystery bush. I have this rhodo-like evergreen
broadleaf bush in one of my bird aviaries. It has small white flowers
in the spring. Its leaves are very dark green, and they are long and
narrow, almost willow like. The leaves are very waxy and tough also.
I'm concerned this plant may be hazardous to my birds. It is a
beautiful plant, and wouldn't want to remove it unless absolutely
necessary. I live on Long Island NY, zone 7.
I think it was called a cherry something. Like I said, it very
much resembles the rhododendron, however it has a more squat
appearance. Its not over 3 feet high, but way wider than its height.
My birds like to nibble on its leaves, and I've lost two over the past
few weeks, and thought the bush may be toxic. I would think any plant
with such tough waxy leaves could have some toxins in them. Please
reply by email,
Thanx in advance
Polly M. Law
Hi Steve,
It sounds to me like you might have a native shrub named Kalmia
angustifolia, common name: Lambkill. All the Mountain Laurels are
poisonous. Fortunately, it will transplant well.
You might want to replace it with some Low-bush Blueberry, Vaccinium
angustifolium, or any of the other low growing huckle or blue berries.
Granted, _you'll_ never get a chance to taste the berries, your birds
will gobble them up!
--
Polly M. Law
Upstate NY/ Z5
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Nick LaRocca
Steve Heller <she...@nassau.cv.net> wrote in article
<342463a9.29527298@news-server>...
There are a couple of evergreen shrubs which are commonly called
cherry-laurel.
It is *possible* that you have a true cherry-laurel (Prunus caroliniana)
but I doubt it. You are much further north than its natural range.
Although this is a coastal plain species, I've not seen it in NJ and we are
further south than you. If it is actually a cherry-laurel, I would
definitely preserve it because you have undoubtedly the most northern
occurrence of what is basically a southern plant. In its natural range,
cherry-laurel is an important bird food plant. BTW, this shrub normally
grows much taller than 3'.
It's also *possible* you have a similar species, P. laurocerasus, but I
doubt this also. AFAIK this only grows in the Pacific NW (I've only seen
pictures)
I suspect what you have is not really cherry-laurel, but sheep-laurel
(Kalmia angustifolia). It is a common plant in this area. The flowers are
more pinkish rather than white, but I've seen some specimens with very pale
flowers which could be mistaken for white at first glance. The entire
plant is EXTREMELY POISONOUS. Even honey made from the flowers is
poisonous. Although this plant is endangered in other parts its range,
that is *not* the case around here and I would not have it around any
livestock (or even small children) because the consequences of eating it
can be lethal. A common name for this plant in the Pinelands is
"lambkill", which pretty much describes its properties.
Since this identification is important, no matter what is correct, you
should definitely take a sample of this plant to a close-by university or
college with a local plant expert and get a positive identification. Most
shrubs can be identified by an expert from their leaves and stems so you
don't have to wait until it flowers.
--
Nick - NJ - Zone 7a
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