Pennsylvania’s official flower is in bloom across the commonwealth, displaying its whites, pinks and reds against its evergreen leaves.

While different regions are holding events to celebrate the beauty of the mountain laurel, seeing the flowering shrub is as simple as a walk in the woods or a leisurely drive along area roads.

“Porcupine Pat” McKinney, the environmental educator for the Schuylkill Conservation District, explained where to find the showy species, which has an interesting history and unique characteristics.

“Mountain laurel likes cool, acidic soils that are well-drained. The preferred habitat that I see is the understory of a forest,” he said.

They’re unmistakable, he said, with flowers that can range from white to pink to deep-rose, and distinctive marks of symmetrical maroon or purple dots or streaks.

The mountain laurel is native to the East Coast, and has been celebrated well before becoming the state flower. In the beginning of the 20th century, it became so harvested that it was suggested as a candidate for environmental protection.

It’s also “one of the fastest-moving plants on the globe” thanks to its pollination tactics, noted the Harvard Gazette.

McKinney explained the bell-like flowers’ unusual way of dispensing pollen.

About the Mountain Laurel

---

• The U.S. Department of Agriculture says mountain laurel can be fatal to both humans and some animals. If consumed in high quantities, it causes burning in the mouth and throat and can eventually lead to vomiting, drowsiness, convulsions, and paralysis.

• Mountain laurel is one of a few native broad-leaved plants whose leaves stay green and do not fall to the ground in winter.

• Mountain laurel is noted for preventing water runoff and soil erosion on mountain hillsides.

• The wood of mountain laurel has a long history of use by Native Americans and early settlers. It was used to make pipes, wreaths, ropes, furniture, bowls, utensils, and various other household goods, the USDA notes.

• Mountain laurel’s reproductive success in areas that have suffered severe burning may be due to its ability to grow reproductive rhizomes up to 30 inches into the soil, thus insulating them from the heat of fires, according to the Penn State Extension.

• Due to its gnarly roots, lumbermen have been said to curse it with off-color expressions and call it names like “ankle breaker” or “ankle twister,” the Penn State Extension notes.

“Their stamens are arched, with the tips held under the rim of the bell. When a bee or other pollinator lands on the flower, the weight of the insect releases the stamen, which flings up the pollen like a catapult,” he said.

The mountain laurel narrowly became the state flower in 1933.

“The General Assembly had passed two bills each naming a different favorite shrub — mountain laurel and the pink azalea,” according to the Pennsylvania Department of Conservation and Natural Resources.

Gov. Gifford Pinchot chose the mountain laurel over the azalea, possibly because it was located in almost all 67 counties, or because of the public’s concern for its conservation.

“During the 1920s, an estimated 20 million pounds of laurel foliage was picked annually throughout its range and used for decorations, especially holiday wreaths, boughs, and floral arrangements,” DCNR notes.

Even earlier — in 1913 — the New York Botanical Gardens published a list of 14 wild plants “needing protection.”

The article’s author Elizabeth Britton noted, “Rhododendrons and laurel are being shipped in carload lots by dealers from the mountains of Pennsylvania and the southern Alleghenies, who supply florists and nurserymen from wild sources. How long can they last?”

The laurel never received “official” protection, but word of its over-collection resonated — and still does — with the public.

A commonly held belief is that it’s illegal to pick the state flower. DCNR notes that it is not true.

Individuals, however, are not permitted to remove any plant from public or private land without permission.

Pennsylvania’s Laurel Highlands, which includes the southwestern counties of Fayette, Somerset and Westmoreland, is a popular destination for laurel seekers who come out in droves from late May to late June.

“Because it grows in abundance in our region, the beautiful mountain laurel is the namesake for our Laurel Highlands. The region’s elevation, climate and rich supply of Pottsville sandstone make it ideal for the iconic flower to thrive,” explained Anna Weltz, a spokeswoman for GO Laurel Highlands, which handles tourism for the area.

So popular are the flowers that GO Laurel Highlands, that representatives often suggest drives or places to visit. Among them is Frank Lloyd Wright’s iconic Fallingwater.

McKinney suggested two local “Laurel Routes” in the area.

“You’ll see a good number as you twist and turn on the roadway” along the Burma Road between Locust Lake State Park (in Barnesville) and St. Clair, he said. Another is Route 61 from Frackville to St. Clair.

Other routes include the Lofty Road from Route 309 to Delano; Brockton Mountain Drive between Brockton and Barnesville, and Route 93 between Nesquehoning and Packer Township.

Those who would rather walk can find information on websites for area state parks including Tuscarora and Hickory Run. Both are mentioned for having trails teeming with the plant.

More north in the Poconos, James Hamill, a spokesman for the Pocono Mountain Visitors Bureau, has heard of a showy display at Big Pocono State Park.