This colonial shrub occurs mostly in Appalachachian regions, but has somewhat disjunct populations elsewhere in southeastern states. Some outlying western records in Ky. deserve further verification, especially in the Bluegrass region. The coll. from TRIM (KY) might be from a planting, stating just "roadside 3 miles NE of Bedford." A curious ecological feature of Kalmia latifolia is the poisonous honey that bees make from its flowers, presumably leading to the place name "Poison Honey Branch" in LAUR; see also "Poison Hollow" in TN and "Poison Cove" in NC. Rhododendron maximum and other Ericaceae can have similar effects. The poisons are generally considered to be polyhydroxylated cyclic diterpenes named "grayanotoxins" after Asa Gray; but alkaloids may also be involved (Lampe 1988).