MAY AND JUNE. 



61 



dron, as a rule, has double that number. The flow- 

 ers of the azalea appear with or precede the leaves ; 

 the rhododendron flowers later, in early summer, and 

 usually grows on the mountain side. Emerson's 

 rhodora {Bhododendron rhodora) is a low-growing 

 shrub about two feet high, 

 with hardly any other superfi- 

 cial appearance to distinguish 

 it from R. nudiflorum, except 

 it be the superiority of its ma- 

 genta-pink color, its small co- 

 rolla which is three-lobed above 

 and two-lipped below, and its 

 shorter stamens. I never was 

 fortunate enough to find either 

 of these varieties in New 

 Hampshire among the hills. 

 In Massachusetts both are quite common. The strik- 

 ing resemblance of the rhodora to honeysuckle will 

 be at once perceived ; but they are not related to 



each other. 



The rhododendron is not so common 

 in our Eastern States ; it is far more 

 plentiful among the Alleghany Moun- 

 tains, where it grows luxuriantly un- 

 der the softened light of the half-lit woods. It is 

 evidently too cold for the shrub in the woods of the 



Rhodora. 



Great Laurel, or 

 Bhododendron. 



Bhododendron 



maximum. 



