584 



ARBORETUM ET FRUTICETUM BRITANNICUM. 



10-eelled and 10-vaIved as in 7?. arboreum, with a septicidal dehiscence at 

 the apex. Placentas simple, angular. Seeds compressed, scobiform, 

 winged. {Don's Mi//.) 



Leaves simple, alternate, exstipulate, deciduous, or evergreen ; quite 

 entire, terminated by a sphacelate apex, or yellow gland. Flowers terminal, 

 corymbose, showy. Shrubs, usually evergreen ; natives of Europe, Asia, 

 and North Ameiica. 



In the Azalea division of this genus the species are almost entirely decidu- 

 ous, with (juite entire alternate leaves, terminated by a withered tip, or yellow 

 gland ; and terminal, corymbose, showy flowers. All the species thrive bes 

 in sandy peat, kept rather moist ; and they are propagated chiefly by layer 

 and seeds. 



i. Ponticum D. Don. 



Sect. C/iar. Limb of calyx short, 5-lobed. Corolla campanulate. Stamens 10 

 Ovarium 5-celled. Leaves coriaceous, evergreen. (Don's Mil/., iii. p. 8-i3.) 



L i?. po'nticum L. The Pontic Rhododendron, or Rose Bay. \ 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 562. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 843. ! 



Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. p. 43. t. 29. ; Bot. Mag., t. 650. ; and pur fig. 1100. j 



Spec. Cliar., ^c. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, glabrous on 

 both surfaces, attenuated towards the thick [)etioles, 

 with a streak on the upp^er surlace, of a wide lanceolate 

 form. Racemes short, corymbose. Leaves sometimes 

 becoming ferruginous beneath. Corolla purple or 

 purplish pink, large ; with ovate, acute, or lanceolate 

 segments. Calyx minute, 5-toothed, somewhat carti- ;- 

 laginous. (Don's Mill.) An evergreen shrub ; Pontus t>' 

 (now Armenia), in Asia Minor. Height 10 ft. to 

 12 ft. Litroduced in 1-763. Flowers purple ; May 

 and June. Capsules brown ; ripe in September. uqo 



Vaneties. 

 . R 



R. pdnticura 



?^. 



1 101. K. p. mynifolium. 



li^ 



2 obtiisum Wats. Dend. Brit. t. 162., Don's Mill., has the leaves 

 subcordate, coriaceous, obtuse, and the calj'X very 

 short, and unequally and uiululately crenated. It 

 grows from 3 ft. to 4- ft. high, and has purple flow- 

 ers. Wild in Armenia. 

 m li. p. 3 myrtifolinh Lodil. Bot. Cab. t. 908. (and otir 

 fg. 1101.), Don's Mill., has the leaves small, and! 

 the flowers purple. It is a native of (iihraltar. I 

 R. /). 4. Sniitlm Swt. Brit. F/.-Gard. n. s. t. 50..: 

 Don's Mil/., has the leaves lanceolate, aiul clothed, 

 with white tomentum beneath ; corymbs man_\- 

 flowered ; ovarium to- 

 mentose, and 10-ceIled. 



The flowers are of a rosy purple, ap- 

 proaching to crimson, elegantly spotted 



with black. A hybrid, raised by Mr. Smith, 



at Coombe Wood, from the seed of 7^. 



ponticum, impregnated by the pollen of 



R. arboreum. 

 R. p. 5 Ldivn Gard. Mag. vol. xi.p. 190. 



Corolla white ; the upper segments marked 



by a few dull scarlet spots. Tliis is a 



most striking variety, originated by M. 



Jacob Makoy. 

 K R. p. 6 aza/eoides ; R. azaleoides DesJ. ; 



R. p. /3 subdeciduum Andr. Bot. Rep. t. 



