358 



RHODODENDRON 



packed in hemispherical trusses 3^ ins. wide. Corolla bell-shaped, with five 

 shallow, notched lobes ; calyx very small, shallowly lobed ; stamens ten, much 

 shorter than the corolla, not downy. 



Native of Nepal and Sikkim at 10,000 to 14,000 ft. ; introduced about 1849. 

 This species is very similar to R. campanulatum in foliage, but is not quite so 

 hardy nor so free in growth. Its flowers are the richest red of any hardy 

 species except R. Thoinsoni (which is of quite a different type) and 

 R. barbatum. They appear during March and April, and provide a feast of 

 colour unequalled in cold districts so early in the year. A suitable spot for it 

 is some sheltered outskirt of woodland, especially where the flowers may be 

 protected from early morning sunlight. At Kew the various titmice are very 

 fond of pecking a hole through the base of the corolla, presumably to get at 

 the honey. An ornamental feature of the plant are the crimson bracts that 

 accompany the young growth in spring. 



R. GEMMIFERUM, Hort. 



A hybrid between a true Rhododendron and one of the Azalea group, 

 forming an evergreen bush of rather loose, open habit, up to 6 ft. high. 

 Leaves 2 to 3^ ins. long, i to i^ ins. wide ; obovate to oval, downy beneath 

 when young, but becoming smooth with age ; dark glossy green above, pale 

 green beneath ; margins recurved. Flowers in a truss 3 ins. across, purplish 

 rose ; corolla funnel-shaped, ij ins. long and wide ; calyx-lobes % in. long, 

 linear, hairy on the margins ;, flower-stalk ^ in. long, sticky and downy. 



This shrub flowers in May or 

 early June. It is allied to 

 azaleoides and Gowenianum, 

 but its flowers are more uni- 

 formly rosy, and the leaves 

 are not glaucous beneath. 



R. GLAUCUM, Hooker fil. 



(Bot. Mag., t. 4721.) 



An evergreen shrub, 2 to 3 

 ft. high, of bushy habit, and 

 usually wider than it, is high ; 

 young branches, leaves, flower- 

 stalks, and calyx covered with 

 reddish brown scurf or scales. 

 Leaves oval or oblong, I to 3 

 ins. long, \ to f in. wide ; 

 margins recurved ; upper sur- 

 face dark dull green, lower 

 one glaucous white or some- 

 times pale brown when young; 

 stalk \ to \ in. long. The 

 leaf when crushed has a 



strong, rather resinous odour. Flowers |to i^ins. wide, rosy purple, produced 

 during May in terminal clusters of usually five or six (sometimes eight to 

 ten) ; corolla bell-shaped, with five spreading, rounded lobes, slightly scaly 

 outside ; calyx large, with five ovate, pointed lobes, \ in. long, scaly outside ; 

 stamens ten, downy at the base. 



Native of Sikkim and Bhotan up to 12,000 ft. ; introduced about 1850. It 

 is quite hardy in fairly sheltered places, but, like other Himalayan species, is 



RHODODENDRON GLAUCUM. 



