RHODODENDRON 341 



about 2 ins. diameter, broadly funnel-shaped, slightly scaly outside. Calyx 

 minute and scarcely lobed, scaly ; stamens ten, whitish, hairy near but not at 

 the base ; style smooth ; ovary scaly ; flower-stalk ^ to | in. long, scaly. 



Native of W. China ; introduced by Wilson in 1904. In its botanical 

 characters it is closely related to the purple R. concinnum, but is distinct in 

 the yellow of its flowers. This being so rare a colour in the evergreen species 

 gives it a certain distinctness, but it is not always a good yellow. 



R. AMCENUM, Planchon. 

 (R. indicum var. amoenum, Maximowicz ; Azalea amoena, Lindley ; Bot. Mag., t. 4728.) 



A compact evergreen shrub, 2 to 4 ft. high, its branches often growing 

 horizontally ; young shoots covered with the scale-like, appressed bristles 

 characteristic of the indicum group. Leaves obovate, usually rounded at the 

 apex, tapering at the base, i to i ins. long, ^ to ^ in. wide ; bristly on both 

 surfaces, more especially above and at the margins, very dark glossy green ; 

 stalk very short, bristly. Flowers I in. or less in diameter, rosy purple ; the 

 calyx-lobes narrowly oblong, % in. long, often like the corolla in shape and 

 colour, and giving the appearance of one flower growing out of another a 

 character known to gardeners as " hose-in-hose." 



Native of Japan, but, as generally known in gardens, a cultivated form ; 

 introduced in 1845, an d long treated as a greenhouse plant. It is, never- 

 theless, quite hardy at Kew, and a very pleasing evergreen, flowering most 

 profusely, and at all times a neat shrub. Out-of-doors it grows very slowly. 

 I know plants over twenty years old not yet 3 ft. high. This is a valuable 

 characteristic in many positions, especially where a permanently low evergreen 

 mass is desired without the trouble ^and perhaps unsightliness of a periodical 

 cropping. A group, if not too thickly planted, affords also an admirable 

 shelter for lilies planted between the shrubs. 



Var. JAPONICUM. This is a very dwarf and dainty plant, perhaps the 

 wild type of R. amcenum. The leaves are j> to f in. long, and the rosy purple 

 flowers are similar in colour and size to those of R. amcenum, but the calyx is 

 green, smaller, and not corolla-like. 



R. ANTHOPOGON, D. Don. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 39470 



An evergreen shrub, 2 ft. or less high, of compact habit ; young branchlets 

 hairy and covered with brown scurf. Leaves oval or ovate, I to i ins. long, 

 \ to f in. wide ; dark, rather glossy green above, covered with brown scales 

 beneath ; stalk \ in. long. Flowers sulphur-coloured, to -| in. across, pro- 

 duced in a small terminal cluster, r to i^ ins. wide. Corolla thin, almost 

 transparent, tube hairy inside expanding a"t the mouth into five wavy lobes ; 

 calyx-lobes oblong, pale green, \ in. long, fringed at the margin ; stamens 

 five (sometimes up to eight), very short, and included within the tube ; flower- 

 stalk scaly, \ in. or less in length. Flowers in April. 



Native of the high Himalaya from Cashmere eastwards, up to 16,000 ft. 

 altitude, where it covers large areas ; introduced in 1820. The whole plant 

 has a strong, aromatic, slightly acrid odour, especially when crushed. It is 

 an interesting little plant, and one of the hardiest of Himalayan species, but 

 not in any way showy. 



R. ARBORESCENS, Torrey. 



(Azalea arborescens, Pursh.} 



A deciduous shrub up to 20 ft. high in a wild state ; young shoots smooth. 

 Leaves obovate or oval, pointed at both ends, i^ to 3^ ins. long, one-third to 



