Sheep laurel grows naturally in the eastern parts of North America in poor soil, in forests, on moors, mires and rocks. The English common names clearly indicate the poisonous properties of the plant.
The Kalmia genus was named by Carl von Linné after his Suomi apostle Pehr (or Pietari) Kalm. Linné sent Kalm on a four-year exploration of North America in the mid-1700s, from which he returned with several hundred plants, among them sheep laurel and mountain laurel, also called calico bush (Kalmia latifolia).