Trees, Shrubs and Vines 



native to our territory but the florist's art has pro- 

 duced a splendid assortment, by grafting the floral 

 excellences of one upon the vigorous stock of another, 

 and by such commingling of tints as gives to this genus 

 a peculiar pre-eminence among shrubs. 



In foliage it much resembles its near kindred, the 

 azalea, the leaf of each being thick, leathery, entire, 

 elliptical, and dark green ; and the flowers are of much 

 the same type, yet with the evident difference (at least 

 in the wild varieties) that the azalea blossom has five 

 stamens, that of the rhododendron ten. This is one of 

 the few shrubs distinctly preferring shade to sunshine, 

 and this fact must be taken account of, if it is to be 

 successfully cultivated. 



Certainly in our northern latitude there is no surprise 

 more brilliant in store for the naturalist than to discover 

 the rich, full-blown clusters of a rhododendron gleaming 

 in the dark woods. Most of our cultivated specimens 

 have foreign stock grafted or budded upon our native 

 Catawbiense, the exotic species being too tender to 

 thrive upon their own roots. Another native rhododen- 

 dron, .#. maximum, or great laurel, thrives as far north 

 as Connecticut, and is a splendid growth, bordering on 

 the arboreal, which it fully attains in the Southern 

 States. This blossoms in July, later than all others of 

 its class, varying in color from pink to white. 



The leaf- type of the genus is much the same as in the 

 magnolia, heavy and stiff, nearly or quite evergreen, and 

 admirable in its way, though far from graceful ; and the 

 figure of the entire plant, in harmony with the foliage, 

 is rigid and almost clumsy, yet with a rough vigor and 



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