March 5, 1910 



HORTICULTURE 



329 



Plant Novelties From China 



Rhododendrons form a class by themselves and are 

 universal garden favorites. The noble foliage of the 

 majority and the handsome and brilliantly colored flow- 

 ers of all place them in the front rank of ornamental 

 shrubs. It is much to be regretted that the exigencies of 

 our New England climate renders possible the cultiva- 

 tion out of doors of only a very meagre number of varie- 

 ties and one wishes that somehow hardier races were 

 obtainable. 



The genus Ehododendron is thinly scattered through- 

 out the northern hemispheres of both old and new worlds 

 but finds its concentration in the Malayan Archipelago, 

 Himalayas and the Chino-Thibetan borderland. The 

 first-named group crosses the equator and is commonly 

 found in the mountains of Borneo, Java, Sumatra, 

 etc. The range of colors in this group is possibly greater 

 than in any other and R. jasminiflorum and allied 

 species have given us, thanks to Messrs. Veitch, a most 

 remarkable race of hybrids suitable for warm gi'een- 

 house culture. The Himalayan species are all tender 

 and unsuitable for outdoor cultivation here in New 

 England. The Chino-Thibetan group, the richest of 

 all, remains largely a new and untried proposition. 

 One species, R. racemosum, is among the most charming 

 and beautiful of the small flowered species, is as hard 

 as a "nail"' across the water, and there seems no 

 reason why it should not thrive over here also. Two 

 others, R. intricatum and R. Souliei, have stood the 

 test the other side to the satisfaction of all concerned. 

 These facts are encouraging and it seems highly prob- 

 able tliat at least a few species of these Rhododendrons 

 may be hardy here. 



Rhododendron is the largest genus recorded from 



LIBRARY 



NEW YORK 



BOTANICAL 



OAROEN. 



Rhododendron intricatum 



As cultivated by Messrs. Veitch. 



fJT J h'HODOUENDRON iM ACULIFERUJI AT EIOME 



Altitude 7500 ft. 



C'liina. no fewer than 150 species being known and 

 many new species yet remain undescribed. The writer 

 liimself has collected over eighty difl'erent species and 

 introduced to Messrs. Veitch and the Arnold Arboretum 

 some fifty odd species. 



In China Rhododendrons commence at sea-level. In 

 stony places and the pine woods of certain regions R. 

 (Azalea) sinense abounds and with its large golden- 

 yellow flowers makes a wonderfully fine show in June. 

 "E. indieum and its forms extend from sea-level up to 

 4500 feet altitude clothing miles and miles of the hill- 

 sides; so abundant and floriferous is this plant that 

 when in flower (May) the hill-sides are nothing but 

 masses of flaming scarlet ! At its altitudinal limit this 

 plant is practically deciduous and there is reason to 

 believe that this form will be as hardy here as R. 

 Kaempferi, its near relative. In the woods, from 4000 

 feet upwards, several broad-leaved species occur but the 

 genus does not get really rich in species until 8000 feet 

 is reached. From this altitude they abound and extend 

 to the limits of ligneous vegetation (15,000 feet 

 circa). In the coniferous forests, from 9000 to 12,000 

 feet, they form usually the only undergrowtli and with 

 their gnarled stems form an absolutely inpenetrable 

 Jungle. No wild animal appears to eat or destroy them, 

 indeed, the Thibetans declare they are poisonous, and 

 the -wood though hard is little used even for fuel con- 

 sequently these Ehododendron thickets remain un- 

 molested by man or beast. There is nothing in the 

 nature of ling or heather (Calluna, Erica) in these 

 regions, their place being taken on the moorlands by 

 dwarf-growing, tiny-leaved species of Ehododendron. 



These Ehododendrons vary in size from trees 30 to 

 40 feet tall (R. calophyton) to tiny shrubs only 6 to 8 



