FLORA OF THE MOUNTAIN. 239 



Some of the Andromedas are found in moist, barren 

 spaces or sandy tracts, and, like the whortleberries, seem to 

 have strong affinities for desolate and unreclaimed wastes. 

 Some of them are found in sphagnous swamps, and alto- 

 gether realize, in the habits of growth of some of the species 

 at least, the spirit of the poetry of the name they bear, 

 "the fabled exposure of Andromeda the unhappy." 



Tribe RHODORE^E. Several genera of this noble tribe are 

 found on the Alleghanies. 



AZALEA, False Honeysuckle. There are here several 

 species of this plant, generally fine flowering bushes, with a 

 brilliant array of colors in their inflorescence, and possessing 

 delicate odors, which fill the air of the woods with a charm- 

 ing perfume. They are extensively distributed over the 

 mountain, and are frequently mingled in dense brakes or 

 heaths of other bushes of the same natural order. 



AZALEA ARBORESCENS is a fine bush, twelve feet high, 

 bearing large, red, fragrant blossoms. 



" VISCOSA," Clammy, or White Honeysuckle, is here. It 

 is a beautiful shrub, ten feet high, with white rose-tinted 

 flowers in large clusters, which are very fragrant. 



"NUDIFLORA," or Purple Azalea, is a bush five feet high, 

 bearing a purple and showy flower. It is one of the hand- 

 somest species, and has a great many varieties. 



The " CALENDULACEA," or Yellow Azalea, also grows on 

 the mountain. It is a tall bush, twelve feet high, bearing 

 orange-colored blossoms, and giving brilliancy and light to 

 the copse where it grows. 



Of evergreen shrubs or bushy-plants of this order, the 

 " KALMIA" and " RHODODENDRON" are the principal. 



The "KALMIA," or American Laurel, is a well-known 

 plant, growing on all the mountains of the Middle and 

 Northern States. It is much esteemed for its richly- 

 varnished evergreen leaves, and its splendid array of deli- 

 cately-tinted flowers. It frequently grows in dense brakes 

 in cool, moist forests, forming what are called " laurel 

 thickets." 



