VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Kalmia angustifolia | Sheep-Laurel 



WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE : 
Sheep-laurel is poisonous to livestock; hence the common names
sheepkill, lambkill, and calfkill [24,36,41].  Toxicity levels, defined
as the percent body weight of foliage needed to induce toxic symptoms,
are 0.15 percent for sheep, 0.20 percent for cattle, and 0.25 percent
for goats [24].  Sheep-laurel also poisons horses.  Poisoning
typically occurs during the winter when persistent sheep-laurel leaves
are the only available vegetation above light snow cover.  Poisoning
symptoms include salivation, watery eyes, running nose, vomiting with
convulsions, and paralysis [43].

Sheep-laurel is not eaten by moose in Newfoundland [39] although it is
eaten by grouse [41], and is important winter food for caribou in
Ontario [1]. 


PALATABILITY : 
Sheep-laurel leaves are tough.  Animals that eat them do so only when
other forage is unavailable [43].


NUTRITIONAL VALUE : 
NO-ENTRY


COVER VALUE : 
Sheep-laurel provides nesting sites for willow ptarmigans [43].


VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES : 
Although used to reclaim mined peatlands [13], sheep-laurel is little
used for reclamation of other sites, so its value on other sites remains
unknown.  It responds to transplanting by sprouting [17].  It returns
very little leaf litter to the soil.  Sheep-laurel builds up the raw
humus layer through root die-off which may include 20 percent of the
root mass greater than 0.33 inch (1 cm) in diameter and account for 9.2
tons of additional humus per acre (907 kg/ha) annually.  It returns 19
pounds of nitrogen per acre (28 kg/ha) yearly [6].

Sheep-laurel has a class IV gypsy-moth susceptibility:  unfavored or
rarely fed upon [20].



OTHER USES AND VALUES : 
NO-ENTRY


MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS : 
Sheep-laurel is a serious pest in blueberry fields. Control by fire is
usually ineffective [34].  Sheep-laurel has stronger rhizomes and sprout
growth than blueberry and requires repeated control [21].  Ten percent
of all the low sweet blueberry acreage in the Maritime Provinces
requires sheep-laurel herbicide control treatment each year [43].

In addition to outcompeting conifer seedlings for nutrients, light, and
space [29], sheep-laurel has an allelopathic effect on conifer seedlings
[5,29,39].  The establishment of sheep-laurel-dominated heaths after
disturbance may produce soil conditions that prevent conifer seedling
establishment [5,6].

Several herbicide treatments have been tested for control of
sheep-laurel.  Most were difficult to use and ineffective [43].

Related categories for Species: Kalmia angustifolia | Sheep-Laurel