RJiododendron. decandria. monogynia. 409 



umbelets are decompound ; the first rays numerous ; the 

 second dichotomous ; and the third many-fold, and short. 



RHODODENDRON. 



Calyx five-parted. Corol infunbuliform. Stamina de- 

 clined. Cap&ule five-celled. 



1. R. punicevm. R. 



Arboreous, Leaves lanceolar, coriaceous, hoary un- 

 derneath. Racemes terminal. Bractes enslform, serice- 

 ous. Corol campanulate ; segments retuse. Capsules ten- 

 celled. 



Boorans, Hardw. in Trans. Asiat. Soc. 6. 359. 



A large tree, a native of the mountains north of Rohil- 

 khund, &c. It flowers in April and May. 



Trunk from twenty to thirty feet high, in large trees 

 about two feet in diameter. Bark suberous, light, scaling 

 ofl" in irregular pieces, of an inch in thickness, and com- 

 posed of numerous, reddish cinnamon-coloured lamina of 

 about half a line in thickness ; the exterior one of a burnt- 

 brown. Branches numerous, very crooked. Leaves al- 

 ternate, about the ends of the branchlets, short-petioled, 

 lanceolate, entire, coriaceous ; smooth above, hoary un- 

 derneath ; about six inches long. Stipules none. Germs 

 terminal, imbricated. Racemes terminal, sessile, subglo- 

 bular, much shorter than the leaves, crowded with large, 

 beautiful, deep crimson flowers. Bractes ; exterior, before 

 the flowers expand, imbricated, strobiliform ; large, of a 

 shape from oval to cuneiform, solitary, one-flowered cloth- 

 ed on the outside with much, long, beautiful, sericeous, pale 

 yellow pubescence ; the interior two, filiform, inserted on 

 opposite sides of the pedicells near the base. Calyx small, 

 unequally five-toothed. Corol campanulate, somewhat 

 oblique. Border of five, nearly equal, broad, retuse seg- 

 ments, the undermost one more highly coloured, ifpos- 



Z z 



