AMERICAN WILD FLOWERS 



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abundant in the southeastern states. The rhododendron genus 

 consists of shrubs or trees which grow to a greater size and have 

 evergreen leaves; in addition the flowers have a shorter tubular 

 corolla. The species known as rose-bay, abundant throughout 

 the Allegheny Mountains, is one of our most magnificent native 

 shrubs, with large showy clusters of pink or white flowers. The 



Fig. 275. — The Heath Family includes trailing arbutus (A), azalea (B), 

 rhododendron (C), laurel (D). 



California rose-bay with purplish flowers is found in the red- 

 wood forests of the Pacific coast. The laurels, also evergreen 

 shrubs, produce flowers with a wheel-shaped and five-lobed 

 corolla. Mountain laurel often forms dense thickets in the 

 woods from New England to Louisiana; its flowers are white or 

 pink in color. Sheep laurel is a smaller plant with rose-pink 

 flowers; it grows in pastures and swamplands of our eastern coast 

 states. 



