RHODODENDRON. 259 



but one of the most magnificent in foliage and flower the coun- 

 try can boast of. It is abundant in the Middle States, and in 

 the mountainous tracts of the Southern, but in New England 

 rare. It is found near Portland, Leicester, and in a swamp in 

 Medfield, in this state. 



The Rhododendron is generally under ten feet in height in 

 this part of the country, but sometimes attains the height of 

 twenty or twenty-five feet in a less rigorous climate. The 

 places where it is found, in New England, may be considered as 

 beyond its proper natural limits, and it will be met with only in 

 warm swamps, under the shelter of evergreens, and where the 

 roots are protected by water, which usually overflows these 

 places. 



The flower-buds are often destroyed, even thus situated, in 

 very severe seasons. When the leaves are beginning to 

 unfold themselves they are rose-colored, and covered with red 

 down. When fully expanded, they are smooth, five or six 

 inches long, of an elongated oval form, and of a thick coria- 

 ceous texture. They are evergreen, and partially renewed once 

 in three or four years. It puts forth flowers in June and July, 

 .which are, commonly, rose-colored, with yellow or orange dots 

 on the inside, and sometimes pure white, or shaded with lake. 

 They are always collected at the extremity of the branches, in 

 beautiful groups, which derive additional lustre from the foliage 

 that surrounds them. Previous to its expansion, the whole 

 bud forms one large compound bud, resembling a strobilus or 

 cone, each individual one being covered by a rhomboidal bracte, 

 which falls off when the flower expands. The corolla is mo- 

 nopetalous, (one piece or petal,) funnel-shaped, with a short tube, 

 the border divided into five large, unequal segments. There 

 is but a small chance of plants succeeding which have been 

 taken from swamps. The surest way to propagate it is by seed, 

 from which it readily grows, but requires time and patience to 

 bring it into a flowering state. 



Shade and humidity seem almost indispensable to the growth 

 of this shrub. Deeply shaded situations, where the atmosphere 



