About Kalmia buxifolia (Bergius) Gift & Kron
Kalmia buxifolia (Bergius) Gift & Kron is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, commonly known as sandmyrtle or sand-myrtle. It is native to the mid-Atlantic and southeastern United States, where it has a disjunct distribution across three separate regions: the Pine Barrens of New Jersey, the Coastal Plain of the Carolinas, and the southeastern Blue Ridge Mountains. This species was previously classified as Leiophyllum buxifolium, the only member of the monotypic genus Leiophyllum, but genetic analysis supports moving it into the genus Kalmia. Kalmia buxifolia is quite variable in appearance. It is a shrub that grows between 10 centimeters and 1 meter in height. Its leaves may be arranged alternately or oppositely on stems, are oval to lance-shaped, and grow up to 1.4 centimeters long. The inflorescence is a raceme or umbel that holds up to 18 flowers with white or light pink petals. The fruit is a capsule a few millimeters long. Across its fragmented range, this species grows in a variety of habitat types, including sandy plains in the Carolinas and rocky mountain woods. The Latin specific epithet buxifolia means "box-leaved", a reference to species in the genus Buxus. Both the species itself and its cultivar 'Maryfield' have received the Royal Horticultural Society's Award of Garden Merit.
