19211 WILSON, **INDIAN AZALEAS" AT MAGNOLIA GARDENS 159 



be adopted for A. procumhens; Azalea Linnaeus thus becojiies a synonym 

 of Loiseleuria. 



According to the Philadelphia Code Azalea Linnaeus must be con- 

 sidered the valid name for the genus now generally called Loiseleuria 

 and the name Azalea in the conception of Britton and Small must be 

 replaced by Tsutsusi Adanson. 



The subgeneric or sectional name Azalea of Planchon under the genus 

 Rhododendron is based on species of Azalea L. sensu Desvaux, which I 

 do not consider a valid name in this conception, and it is, moreover, 

 antedated by G. Don's and Endlicher's sectional and subgeneric names 

 Pentanthera and Anthodendron ; therefore Azalea should not be used as 

 a sectional or subgeneric name under Rhododendron. 



THE "INDL\N AZALEAS" AT MAGNOLIA GARDENS 



E. II. Wilson 



The Magnolia Gardens near Charleston, South Carolina, are among the 

 remarkable gardens of the South and are specially famous for their Aza- 

 leas. On April 16th my colleague, Alfred Rehder, visited these gardens 

 and made herbarium specimens of all the varieties then in flower. The 

 collection is of great interest as it represents very completely the ** Indian 

 Azaleas" known to the gardens of the 40's and 50's of last century. From 

 most modern gardens these varieties have been lost though nearly all 

 are represented in that at Holm Lea, Brookline, Mass. Miss Marie C. 

 Hastie, granddaughter of the founder of Magnolia Gardens, obligingly 

 informs us that the first planting of Azaleas was made by her grandfather 

 about 1850. The importation came by way of Philadelphia and included 

 plants of Azalea indica sent for the special purpose of trying them in 

 South Carolina. Later, plants were secured from the Bercksmanns' Nur- 

 sery, Augusta, Georgia. Many of the original plants are still growing in 

 Magnolia Gardens, and by successful layering quantities have been ob- 

 tained and the collection largely increased. The older plants are now 

 much crowded and the largest measure from 10 to 18 feet in height and 

 from 14 to 16 feet through. The largest plants are R, pJioeniceum G. 

 Don and its forms which are richly represented. Apart from the typical 

 species there is the form semiduplex Wils. with double flowers; also one 

 with white flowers which I have not seen before. Other forms are f. 

 splendens Wils. (/?. phoeniceiim var. splendens D. Don), f. Smithii Wils. 

 (/i. pulchrum Sweet), which were raised in England and introduced into 

 America in 1835 and 1836 and var. calycinum Wils. {A. indica calycina 

 Lindl.) with very large, rich magenta-colored flowers which was intro- 

 duced from China into England by R. Fortune about 1850. Of the true 

 R, indicum Sweet {Azalea indica L.) several color forms are growing at 

 Magnolia including the famous f. variegatum DC. which was introduced 

 into England from China in 1833 to Knight's Nursery and into Boston, 



