Rhododendron maximum, 
Rhododendron maximum, 
THE AMERICAN ROSE BAY-TREE 
Synonymes. 
' Linnjeus, Species Plantarum. 
Michaux, North American Sylva. 
Don, Miller's Dictionary. 
( Loudon, Arboretum Britannicum. 
Rhododendron maximum, Rhododendron ) 
d'Amerique, j France. 
Grosster Alpbalsam, Germany. 
American Rose Bay-tree, Britain. 
Rose Bay-tree, Dwarf Rose Bay-tree, United States. 
Demotion, The specific name maximum is derived from the Latin magnus, great, and signifies " the largest " in reference 
to the laige size of this tree when compared with the minor species of this genus. ' 
Engravings Michaux North American Sylva, pi. 67; Audubon, Birds of America, ii., pi. ciii.; Loudon, Arboretum Bri- 
tannicum, u., fig. 932; and the figures below. 
Specific Characters. Arborescent. Leaves elliptic-oblong, acute, convex, bluntish at the base, whitish or 
rusty beneath, glabrous. Calycine segments oval-obtuse. Segments of corolla roundish. Flowers 
pale-red, in umbellate corymbs, studded with green, yellow, or purple protuberances. Don, Millers 
Diet. 
Description. 
" Pleased with their toil, the healers sought the cell, 
Where Rhododendron, like some drooping maid, 
Timid and beauteous, hides its golden locks; 
Or lur'd her statelier sister's aid, to bribe 
Relentless Chronic Rheumatism to loose 
The rigid sinew." 
Traits of the Aborigines. 
HE Rhododendron max- 
imum generally presents 
itself in the form of a 
'"^^SP shrub, less than ten feet 
high ; but it sometimes attains a height of twenty 
or twenty-five feet, with a stem four or five 
inches in diameter. When the leaves are begin- 
ning to unfold themselves they are rose-coloured, 
and are covered with a reddish down. When 
fully expanded, they are smooth, five or six 
inches long, of an elongated-oval form, and of a 
thick, coriaceous texture. Although the tree is 
evergreen, it renews its leaves once in three or 
four years. It puts forth flowers from June till August, which are commonly 
rose-coloured, with yellow dots on the inside, and sometimes they are perfectly 
white. They always occur at the extremity of the branches in beautiful groups, 
which derive additional lustre from the foliage that surrounds them. The seeds 
are extremely minute, and are contained in capsules which open in autumn, for 
their escape. 
Varieties. The varieties recognized in this species are as follows : 
1. R. m. album, Loudon. While-flowered Rose Bay-tree, with pure white 
flowers, and is comparatively rare. 
2. R. M. hybridum, Loudon. Hybrid Rose Bay-tree, supposed to have been 
produced by fertilizing the common white glaucous-leaved Azalea with the pol- 
