laurel noun Cf rhododendron.
A variant form larel.
1939 Hall Notebook 13:1 White Oak NC larel (Fay Leatherwood)
B (also laurel bush) The mountain term for evergreen rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum and Rhododendron catawbiense), which grows profusely at elevations below 5,000 feet and covers extensive tracts in thicket. Also used in compounds (as flat laurel, laurel bed, laurel patch, laurel slick, laurel thicket, mountain laurel) and in place names.
1890 Carpenter Thunderhead Peak 142-43 There for the first time we saw the tangle of rhododendron which is called “laurel,” and forms a dense thicket along all the mountain streams. 1937 Hall Coll. Cosby Creek TN We have white laurels and red laurels here in the mountains. (James Benson) 1939 Hall Coll. Deep Creek NC They fought right down to the foot of the ridge into the flat laurel and commenced barkin’. I though [the bear] was treed. (Mark Cathey) 1974 Underwood Madison County 9 Roderick Shelton and his descendants peopled the area now known as Shelton Laurel.
—Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
The laurel is blooming around my house and it’s lovely. Blooms come in varying hues of pink and white here. I’ve never seen the red mentioned in the dictionary entry, but boy wouldn’t that be pretty.
They are larger and showier than ivy blooms.
As I see them shining through the woods I always think they look like small pom-poms.
Each individual bloom in a cluster is sticky. That stickiness makes perfect stick-on hair bows and jewelry for young girls playing in a playhouse nestled down under their branches.
Laurel grow so thickly in some places that they are referred to as hells.
laurel hell noun A dense growth of laurel (i.e. rhododendron)
1977 Hamilton Mountain Memories 48 Far back in the big mountains were the infamous “laurel hells” where our tall laurel grew so thick with twisted branches, that a man venturing in there might never find his way out. c1980 Campbell Memories of Smoky 220 They soon learn, often with sore muscles as a lingering reminder, that the so-called “laurel slicks” of the Smokies are far from being “slick” and that “laurel hells” make a much more accurate or descriptive name for what the botanists know as “heath balds.”
—Dictionary of Smoky Mountain English
I’ve heard about laurel hells all my life and heard many a tall tale about men and hunting dogs getting lost in them never to be seen again. If you’ve ever found yourself in a thicket of laurel you can easily understand why they are called hells.
Last night’s video: Appalachian Family Supper: First Mess of Fried Squash & New Taters.
Tipper
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Early mountain folks that hunted bears called laurel “dog throttle”, bears would bound over it and dogs were trapped in it.
Growing up my granny Beth and pa Ed lived on a little dirt road in Cashiers NC called Laurel knob. It was plain to see how it got the name. The laurels were thick on both sides of the rd all the way. Granny and pa are both gone now and I sure do miss all the trips going to see them. Last time I was over there after granny passed in 2017 the road had been paved and lots of land cleared to build more homes…makes me so sad to think that if things keep going the way they have been we might not have many Laurel thickets left to get lost in
Tried transplanting them to home to no avail. Wrong zone and soul I guess. Do any nurseries sell them there?
I’ve always wondered what laurel looked like. I also have no idea what red bud tree looks like.
Thanks for posting pictures.
Rhodies in our neck of the woods in Oregon include the colors of red and purple.
So pretty!!
absolutely beautiful!!!!
They’re so pretty.
I can well remember crawling around in the laurels and ivies all day and then being denied entrance to my own residence until I “picked every one of them sticky things off of my clothes”. Same with cuckle burrs and beggars lice! I thought that was what mothers were for but found out very quickly that I shouldn’t be thinking.
Mountain laurel are some of the most beautiful plants (as well as humongous) you’ll ever be privileged to gander! I’ve heard it referred to as laurel hell when you get into the briars and big rhododendrons and it seems to trap and confuse a person. I had a friend who now is gone who found a cat miles from nowhere in a bunch of rhododendrons fishing in a little pond for her sustenance. She named her Indy…anyway I brought daddy home a baby rhododendron I found in the National forest and when he asked where I got it, he gave me a good talking to about stealing out of the National forest and rangers and how they have more power than a trooper. I just leave stuff alone now. lol anyway I have a complete house now and a complete paved driveway… let me be thankful. Prayers to Norman in GA-get well brother. Take care all of you. Blessings
granny and the babies and the rest of the family too!!! Love to my friends in NC-you’re the best!!! You always bring good things and I thank you for the daily fellowship among country folk. It’s wonderful food for the soul. I like reading everybody’s comments. They’re a lot of fun.
How fortunate you are to have rhododendron blooming in the woods all around you! So beautiful!
My favorite North Carolina plant. The blooms don’t last long but I love them.
Oh boy! Do I have memories of both laurel and rhododendron (aka ivy and laurel, respectively). I reckon every mountain boy does. They are each one of those things that after awhile you end up with a kinda grudging admiration for. Too pretty all the time to do without. But too aggravating to hang around in (most especially in the rain) very long. Laurel and ivy each make great ‘little people’ forests for hideouts and playhouses. Your post reminds me of a place I need to go to see some laurel blooming where I can see it up close without having to crawl through the surrounding blowdown and brush . I do know where a friend has red Rhododendron planted and he told me their story about where it came from but I forget the details.
My family was taught to identify what Western NC mountain people we lived around call Mountain Laurel, as rhododendron; and what they call ivy as Mountain Laurel. I love both flowers and think the Mountain Laurel blossoms look like fairy cups.
The laurels are beautiful. When hiking the Smokies they’re everywhere. Like an enchanted forest.
The photos are beautiful. I imagine they’re even more so in person.
A couple of corrections to what I wrote: We took a train trip, and all the windows were down.
spent the night in the hospital again, atrial fibrillation, high blood pressure, 160 over 100, pulse 103, went to the ER and all the doctor could do was let me sit there, no medication was given, God help
Norman, I’m so sorry. I will keep praying for you!
I am sorry Norman. My mama has Afib and high blood pressure too. It can be scary. I hope and pray you are feeling better soon.
Norman- please go to your PCP. Your blood pressure medicine probably needs to be adjusted. High blood pressure is nothing to fool around with. I will also pray for you.
My family and I visited Pigeon Forge last month. While there that week we drove about one and a half hours down to Bryson City, NC and rode the Great Smokey Mountain Railroad. It was a four- and one-half hour trip. The car we rode had all the windows up and it was a beautiful sunny day. All along the route the pink and white laurels, honeysuckle and other flowers were blooming giving off a heavenly fragrance. The mountains were beautiful. It was a memorable trip.
The pictures are so pretty. It seems like we have more rhododendron and laurel blooming all around our area this year than I can ever remember. Hubby and I noticed the great amount blooming along the road on our way to Lowe’s the other day. I guess the amount of rain and sunshine is perfect for it. I think your supper looked wonderful last evening. It’s sweet that y’all get to have meals together so often. I love it when my whole family eats together too. I also enjoyed Corie’s video last evening. I just love getting a little peek into your lives. Thanks for sharing. Have a wonderful day!
They are gorgeous!!!
I miss fishing and camping in the mountains up above Walhalla in SC and seeing the laurel and other mountain plants. The worst thing I ever got into while hunting was a huge patch of above your head briers.I didn’t think I would ever get through them or have any clothes on by a the time I did.
I have already ate fried squash this year from new fresh homegrown squash. I only like squash that are fried. I am going to rub this in to some of the members, I bought a locally grown Cherokee Purple tomato yesterday and plan to have me my first of the year tomato sandwiches (one ain’t enough) today, I have got the DUKES mayonnaise, loaf bread and sweet ice tea waiting. It will be a few more weeks before I have my own.