ERICACE^l. 



Nat. syst. ed. 2. p. 220. 



RHODODENDRON. 



Calyx 5-leaved, small, equal, herbaceous. Corolla campanu- 

 late or very shortly infundibulifbrm, rather unequal, with a 

 spreading limb. Stamens 10, declinate ; anthers without appen- 

 dages, opening by 2 terminal pores. Capsule 5-celled, 5-valved, 

 septicidal. Shrubs with coriaceous and usually evergreen 

 leaves. 



776. Rhododendron maximum Willd. sp. pi. ii. 606. Bot. 

 mag. t. 951. Bigel. med. bot. iii. t. 51. Woods in the United 

 States near the summits of mountains, on the banks of torrents 

 and deep ravines from which rivers take their rise, where the 

 deep shady moist soil and dashing water preserve the atmo- 

 sphere in a state of perpetual humidity. Bigelow. (American 

 Rose -bay.) 



A large straggling shrub, very irregular in its mode of growth. Bark 

 greyish, very much cracked and broken. Leaves in tufts at the ends of 

 the branches, evergreen, coriaceous, on round fleshy petioles, oblong- 

 oval, entire, revolute at the edges, and pale underneath ; when young, 

 covered with a light woolly coating. Cluster or thyrsus terminal, 

 immediately above the leaves ; the peduncles and calyces covered with 

 a glutinous pubescence. Previous to its expansion, the whole cluster 

 forms a large compound bud, resembling a cone, each individual flower- 

 bud being covered by a rhomboidal bract, which falls off when the flower 

 expands. Calyx small, of 5 unequal obtuse segments. Corolla mono- 

 petalous, funnel-shaped, with a short tube, the border divided into 5 

 large, unequal segments, which are white, shaded with lake, the upper 

 and largest having a collection of orange-coloured spots at its centre. 

 Stamens declinate, unequal ; filaments white, thickened and hairy at 

 base. Ovary ovate, hairy, glutinous ; style declinate, equal to the 

 longest stamens, thickened upwards ; stigma a rough surface with 5 

 points. Capsule ovate, obtusely angular, 5-celled. Seeds numerous, 

 minute. An astringent, but not narcotic according to Bigelow. 

 Barton however asserts that it is certainly a poison. 



777. R. ponticum Linn. sp. pi. 562. Jacq. ic. rar. i. t. 78. 

 Pallfl. ross. i. 4-3. t. 29. Bot. Mag. t. 650. The mountains 

 of the west of Persia, Georgia. It first appears, according to 

 Pallas, in the southern subalpine limestone ridge of Caucasus in 

 the districts of Ocriba and Salordkipaniso, preferring damp beech 

 and alder woods in rocky places ; now common everywhere in 

 gardens. 



377 



