80 



shaped stigma. The five long stamens are inserted with the 

 corolla at the base of the tube, and a deep hairy groove extends 

 down the center of each lobe of the corolla to the nectar, at its 

 base. The leaves are oval or obovate, tapering to a short petiole 

 and unequal in shape and size; usually five to seven are borne 

 at the summits of naked branches, like the flowers forming an 

 unsymmetrical rosette. 



Azalea nudiflora was described by Linnaeus in 1762 in the 

 second edition of his "Species Plantarum" and he cites Peter 

 Kalm's description. In Kalm's travels under the date of May 5, 

 1749, he says: "Early this morning I went to Rapaapo, New 

 Jersey which is a great village, inhabited by Swedes. . . . The 

 Mayflowers, as the Swedes call them, were plentiful in the woods 

 wherever I went to-day; especially on a dry soil, or one that is 

 somewhat moist. The Swedes have given them this name, be- 

 cause they are in full blossom in May. Some of the Swedes and 

 the Dutch call them Pinxterbloem (Whitsunday flowers) as they 

 really are in blossom about Whitsuntide. The English call them 

 Wild Honeysuckles; and at a distance they have some similarity 

 to the Honeysuckle, or Lonicera. Dr. Linnaeus, and other 

 botanists, call it an Azalea. Its flowers were now open, and 

 added a new ornament to the woods, being little inferior to the 

 flowers of the Honeysuckle and Hedysarum. They fit in a circle 

 round the stem's extremity, and have either a dark red or a lively 

 red color; but, by'standing for some time, the sun bleaches them, 

 and at last they get a whitish hue." 



This species ranges from Maine to Florida and Texas, ascends 

 to 3,000 feet altitude in Virginia and has been reported from 

 Canada. About forty species of Azalea have been described from 

 North America and Asia, many have been cultivated for their 

 beauty, and many hybrids are known. Seven species are known 

 to grow in the United States, of which the orange-colored Flame 

 Azalea of the Southern States is the showiest and the White 

 Swamp Azalea the most fragrant. The Heath Family or Erica- 

 ceae, to which they belong, includes about fifty-five genera and 

 one thousand and fifty species, widely distributed, mostly in cool 

 temperate regions in which the Laurel and Rhododendrons are 



