RHODODENDRON 357 



explains its abundance in gardens, for being a vigorous grower it will, unless 

 watched, often send up strong sucker growths that in time smother out the 

 more finely bred sorts grafted on it. 



Var. ALBIFLORUM (Bot. Mag., t. 2383). A white-flowered form, or perhaps 

 hybrid. 



Var. MACRANTHUM. Flowers rich yellow, i\ ins. or more wide. 



R. FORTUNEI, Lindley. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 5596.) 



An evergreen shrub, ultimately 10 to 12 ft. high, usually less in this country, 

 and of wide-spreading habit ; branches stout, smooth. Leaves oblong, with 

 a tapering, rounded, or heart-shaped base, abruptly pointed ; 4 to 8 ins. long, 

 2 to 3^ ins. wide ; quite smooth on both surfaces, pale green above, slightly 

 glaucous beneath ; stalk stout, purplish, \ to I in. long. Flowers fragrant, 

 produced in May, somewhat loosely arranged in terminal clusters ; each 

 blossom is 2\ to 3 ins. across, of a lovely blush tint on opening, becoming 

 paler afterwards ; corolla seven- (or rarely eight-) lobed, flattish ; calyx so 

 small as to be scarcely discernible ; stamens fourteen to sixteen, much shorter 

 than the corolla, smooth. 



Native of E. China ; discovered by Fortune on mountains west of Ning Po, 

 and introduced by him in 1859. It is a beautiful rhododendron, and is of 

 interest in having a seven-lobed corolla and spicily fragrant flowers. It 

 was the first hardy species of true Rhododendron (as distinct from Azalea) 

 received from China now the headquarters $>f the genus. For many years 

 it has been grown outside at Kew, and is quite hardy. Propagated by 

 seeds, which it ripens freely, or by grafting on R. ponticum. 



Fortune's rhododendron has in recent years acquired a revived interest 

 in giving birth to a new, distinct, and beautiful race of hardy kinds. The 

 first experiments in hybridising this species were made by Mr Luscombe, an 

 amateur residing in Devonshire ; crossing it with R. Thomsoni, he obtained 

 the fine R. Luscombei and Liiscombei splefidens. Crossing it with garden 

 varieties, he obtained the two kinds afterwards named " Mrs Thiselton-Dyer" 

 and " Frances Thiselton-Dyer." These crosses appear to have been made 

 about 1880. Soon after that date Mr G. Paul of Cheshunt made an extensive 

 series of crosses, with R. Fortunei as the seed-bearing parent. From these, 

 some scores of varieties were obtained that may be said to have laid the 

 foundation of the new Fortunei race, the value of which is that they flower 

 earlier than the great mass of catawbiense and ponticum hybrids, and 

 thus help to extend the rhododendron season. And they have, besides their 

 lovely and delicate colouring, often the additional charm of a fragrance 

 inherited from R. Fortunei. 



R. DECORUM, Franchet, is closely allied to R. Fortunei, and is perhaps its 

 representative in W. China. It has the same seven-lobed corolla and 

 fragrant blossoms, but it differs in the larger, thicker, grey-green leaves, a 

 less-branched habit, and in the stamens being downy or glandular at the 

 base. Introduced in 1889. R. Spooneri, Hemsley and Wilson, is apparently 

 identical with R. decorum 



R. FULGENS, Hooker fit. 



An evergreen shrub, 6 to 12 ft. high, with stiff branches and peeling bark. 

 Leaves oval, 3 to 4 ins. long, \\ to 2 ins. wide ; rounded at the end except 

 for a short, abrupt tip ; somewhat heart-shaped at the base ; covered beneath 

 with a thick reddish brown felt. Flowers blood-red, I to ij ins. across, densely 



