Kalmia procumbens

alpine azalea

SPECIES

1. KingdomPlantae
2. PhylumTracheophyta
3. ClassMagnoliopsida
4. OrderEricales
5. FamilyEricaceae

Native toAlaska, Alberta, Aleutian Is., Austria, British Columbia, Chita, Finland, France, Føroyar, Germany, Great Britain, Greenland

Observations6,691

Slo.: polegla alpska azalea - syn.: Azalea procumbens - Habitat: Alpine pasture on a high mountain pass, almost flat terrain, calcareous ground but with some silicate, acid ground (growing next to Vaccinium gaultherioides and other acid soil lovers), dry place, full sun, exposed to strong winds and direct rain, average precipitations ~ 3.000 mm/year, average temperature 0-2 deg C, elevation 1.920 m (6.300 feet), alpine phytogeographical region. - Substratum: soil. - Comment: Loiseleuria procumbens is a rare plant in Slovenia. This is because it grows only at high mountain elevations on places where soil contains at least some silicate. In addition, it thrives only on mountain ridges, where snow early disappears because it is blown away by strong winds. And such places are rare in Slovenia. - This beautiful plant blooms very early on Mangart flats. While on windswept ridges the snow already melts away, the rest of the mountain is still under snow cover and hence more difficult to access. For many years I've been always too late at the place where I took these pictures and the plants have been already in seeds. I've never seen it in its full beauty with hundreds and hundreds of dense