RHODODENDRON 373 



presence of great drifts of this shrub in many gardens is due. For when 

 planted out and left unwatched the stock frequently sends up sucker-growths, 

 and it then becomes only a matter of time before the finer bred and less 

 assertive scion is overwhelmed. 



From catawbiense, which is the only species with which it is likely to 

 be confused, R. ponticum is distinguished by its long, narrow leaves, and the 

 deeper narrow lobes of the corolla ; catawbiense never grows rampant, as 

 it does. 



R. ponticum has been used to a considerable extent by hybridisers, but 

 the hybrids are not generally so valuable and hardy as those derived from 

 catawbiense. One of the best is altaclerense (see under arboreum). Of its 

 own varieties the following may be mentioned : 



Yar. ALBUM. Flowers white. 



Yar. CHEIRANTHIFOLIUM. Flowers pale purple ; the plant dwarf and 

 compact ; leaves 2 or 3 ins. long, ^ to ^ in. wide, very wavy at the margins. 



Var. LANCIFOLIUM (R. lancifoYmm^Moenc/t}. A small edition of the type ; 

 leaves 2 to 4 ins. long, TT to f in. wide. Flowers in small trusses, almost 

 white in the centre, suffused with purple towards the margin. The plant is 

 dwarf and compact, rarely more than 4 or 5 ft. high. It 4s distinguished from 

 cheiranthifolium by the leaves being flat, not wavy. 



Var. VARIEGATUM. Leaves smaller and narrower than in the type, edged 

 with creamy white. 



R. PRZEWALSKII, Maximowicz. 



(R. kialense, Franchet^ 



An evergreen shrub of very compact, slow growth, forming a close 

 hemispherical bush ; young shoots bright yellow, smooth, stiff, and stout. 

 Leaves oval or obovate, 2 to 4 ins. long, i to \\ ins. wide ; tapered or rounded 

 at the base, pointed ; dark green and smooth above, more or less scurfy, and 

 with netted veins beneath; stalk yellow. Flowers white or pink, borne in com- 

 pact rounded trusses 2 to 3 ins. across ; corolla five-lobed, about \\ ins. across, 

 broadly funnel-shaped ; stamens ten, smooth-stalked or very slightly downy 

 at the base ; ovary and style smooth ; flower-stalk about \ in. long and, like 

 the small inconspicuously lobed calyx, smooth. 



Native of W. China ; first collected in Kansu by the Russian traveller 

 Przewalsky, in 1880 ; introduced to cultivation by way of St Petersburg. 

 Wilson, who found it further south in 1904, observes that it reaches higher 

 altitudes in W. China than any other broad-leaved rhododendron. He found 

 it up to 14,500 ft. Its yellow buds, young shoots, and leaf-stalks combined 

 with its dense close habit make cultivated plants very distinct, but it appears to 

 be very shy-flowering. Some plants have the young shoots balsamic scented. 



R. PUNCTATUM, Andrews. 



(R. minus, ^'ic 



An evergreen bush, 2 to 4 ft. high ; young shoots rough with scales. Leaves 

 oval-lanceolate to narrowly obovate, tapering at both ends ; i to 3 ins. long, 

 ^ to i j ins. wide ; dark green and smooth above, thickly dotted beneath with 

 minute red-brown scales ; stalk j to ^ in. long. Flowers i to i^ ins. wide, 

 pale pinkish purple, spotted on the upper side with brownish red ; corolla 

 funnel-shaped ; stamens ten, hairy at the base, protruding somewhat beyond 

 the corolla ; calyx-lobes very short ; flower-stalk scaly, i to f in. long. 

 Blossoms in May and June. 



Native of Eastern N. America : introduced in 1786. It is a neat and 



