1864 



A TEXTBOOK OF THEORETICAL BOTANY 



Fig. 1770. — Macleania insionis. Flowering shoot. 



IV. Ericoideae 



Nut, or capsule splitting loculicidally, seeds round, anthers with short 

 connectives and with appendages. Corolla persistent. Erica, Calluna, 

 Eremia and Salaxis. 



The Rhododendroideae include about seventeen genera and 850 species, 

 of which the genus Rhododendron is by far the largest, with about 800 species. 

 It is characteristically an eastern Asiatic genus occurring particularly in the 

 Himalayas and south-western China. Many of the species, introduced by 

 collectors, are cultivated in this country, and contribute a most remarkable 

 variety of evergreen shrubs. Some species become almost wild in parts of 

 England. Many hybrids have been produced in cultivation and the 

 identification and naming of these varieties has become an extremely 

 complex matter. 



The flowers (Fig. 1771) are protandrous and usually brightly coloured. 



I 



Fig. 177 1. — Rhododendron. Pollination. A, Young, staminal stage. B, Corolla detached at 

 the base and falling off, thus drawing the anthers on to the stigma and causing self- 

 pollination. C, Ovary with persistent style, after anthesis. 



