346 RHODODENDRON 



prominently net-veined beneath, covered with fine down on both sides. 

 Flower-truss 4 ins. wide, carrying eight to sixteen blossoms, which are 2^ ins. 

 across and of a beautiful ^soft primrose-yellow, with reddish brown spots on 

 the upper side of the corolla ; stamens ten ; calyx-lobes pale green, of unequal 

 length, oblong ; flower-stalk I to i^ ins. long, downy. 



R. SMITHII var. AUREUM (Paxton's Mag. of Botany, ix., t. 79), is very 

 like the preceding, which is frequently exhibited at flower shows under this 

 name. The true R. Smithii aureum differs' in having the leaves very glaucous 

 beneath ; the flowers, too, are of a paler yellow and not so flat and open ; the 

 flower-stalk is longer and more slender, and the calyx-lobes somewhat 

 narrower. The two are, no doubt, very much alike, but easily distinguished 

 by the glaucous leaf of Smithii aureum. R. Broughtonii aureum is the better 

 shrub more beautiful and growing better. Both are hybrids between an 

 azalea and a true Rhododendron. I do not know the parentage of 

 Broughtonii aureum, but that of the other is given as "Rhododendron 

 seedling x Azalea sinensis." From the latter it may derive its glaucous 

 hue. Both can be propagated by cuttings or by grafting on R. ponticum. 



It should be mentioned that the names " Broughtonii " and " Smithii " have 

 been given to other and very different rhododendrons. Thus R. BROUGHTONII 

 is a large-leaved, large-flowered garden variety of the true evergreen type, not 

 in the least like the so-called var. aureum ; flowers bright rosy red, in large 

 trusses, very like the well-known " Cynthia " or " Lord Palmerston." R. 

 SMITHII is a hybrid between ponticum and arboreum (g.v.), and R. SMITHII 

 ALBUM is an early, white-flowered hybrid of the arboreum type also. These, 

 as well as " Smithii elegans," were all raised by Smith, a nurseryman of 

 Norbiton, near Kingston, who flourished about 1830, and appears to have 

 called most of his rhododendrons after himself, whatever their origin. 



R. CALENDULACEUM, Torrey. FLAME-FLOWER. 



(Azalea calendulacea, Michaux.) 



A deciduous shrub up to 10 or more feet high ; young shoots bristly-hairy. 

 Leaves obovate or oval, 2 to 4 ins. long, f to I ^ ins. wide ; smooth, or with a 

 few scattered hairs above, downy beneath, especially on the midrib and veins ; 

 leaf-stalk hairy, very short. Flowers of various shades of red, orange, and 

 yellow, scarcely fragrant, produced in showy terminal clusters of five or more. 

 Corolla-tube about in. long, glandular-hairy ; lobes often I in. long, always 

 considerably longer than the tube ; calyx-lobes edged with long, erect hairs ; 

 flower-stalk \ in. long, glaVidular-hairy. 



.Native of Eastern N. America ; introduced in 1806. This is the most 

 brilliantly coloured of all wild azaleas, and is the source of the scarlet and 

 orange-coloured varieties of garden origin. It is itself no longer common in 

 cultivation. It has been much confused, both in books and in gardens, with 

 R. nudiflorum, from which it is distinguished by the proportionately shorter 

 tube of the corolla in comparison with the lobes, by the orange or scarlet 

 (not pink or purplish) flowers, and by the leaf being grey-downy beneath (not 

 merely bristly on the midrib). John Bartram gives this description of his 

 first sight of this azalea in the Carolina Mountains : " I saw the blossoms 

 covering plants on the hill-sides in such incredible profusion that, suddenly 

 opening to view from deep shade, I was alarmed by the apprehension of the 

 hill being on fire." 



R. CALIFORNICUM, Hooker. 



(Boi. Mag., t. 4863.) 



An evergreen shrub up to 12 ft. high, with smooth young wood ; branches 

 stout and erect. Leaves oval or oblong, 3 to 6 ins. long, i] to 3 ins. wide ; 



