Introduction
Kalmia are mainly evergreen shrubs that are native to the North American continent. Kalmia angustifolia is also known in some places in the wild in Europe.
The genus includes nine species according to the latest botanical classification. It belongs to the scientific family Ericaceae.
Kalmia is named by Carl von Linné after the Finnish-Swedish botanist Pehr Kalm, who collected it in eastern North America.
Goal of the European Kalmia Society is to make the genus Kalmia more popular, support hybridizing, production and spreading of Kalmia species and cultivars.
Special Features
Hybridizing of Kalmia cultivars is still a great challenge. The pollination is quite specific. Show the videoThis video shows how the flower releases the pollen immediately after the slightest touch. It was produced by Dipl.-Biol. Axel Hinnemann as scientific assistant and technical head of the Centre of Microscopy (Prof. Dr. Kerstin Koch) with the support of Prof. Dr. Peter Scholz (Vice- President for Research and Development)
Hochschule Rhein-Waal
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external Link: Hochschule Rhein-Waalwww.hochschule-rhein-waal.de
The International Kalmia Register and Checklist
By now there are 33 species and 209 cultivars including synonyms listed here.
International Kalmia Register & ChecklistTake a look at the register.Registration
The International Society for Horticultural Science (ISHS) has approved the European Kalmia Society as the International Registration Authority for cultivars of the genus Kalmia.
For further details of the Cultivar Registration scheme, please see the external Link: ISHS websiteISHS website.
It is a non-statutory, voluntary process which benefits the whole horticultural community.Those wishing to register a cultivar of Kalmia may Registration-Formdownload the registration form (PDF 32 KB).
The Society encourages all Kalmia hybridizers to register their cultivars. At the same time we strongly urge that all new cultivars be thoroughly tested and evaluated before they are named and registered. Each new Kalmia that is offered to the public should be distinctly better or different from existing varieties.
Anyone who knows of cultivars that are not listed, or who can assist with further information about those that are, is requested to Please contact the Registrar by using the contact formcontact the Registrar.
You can find further information on the following websites:
- external Link: How to name a cultivarHow to name a cultivar
- external Link: International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants (ICNCP)
- New registered Kalmia Cultivars will be periodically published in the RHS Journal. Until 2022 in Hanburyana and since 2023 in the external Link: RHS Cultivar Registration BulletinCultivar Registration Bulletin.
- external Link: International registrationInternational registration of cultivar names for Kalmia L. Sorten von 2007 -2009 (PDF 72 KB)
- All Kalmia hybrids are published 2020 in a book: "Fascynujące kalmie" ("Fascinating Kalmie"), Huebbers, Karl-Heinz and Westhoff, Julia: Fascynujące kalmie (Fascinating Kalmie) published by Plantin, Krakow, Poland 2020, ISBN: 978-83-956964-0-4
More information is to be find by the publisher: the polish company Plantin Fascynujące kalmie (Faszinierende Kalmien)
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