"HARDY" RHODODENDRONS 257 



tunately not quite hardy in New England and rarer 

 species like R. Schlippenbachii and R. Albrechtii, but we 

 must hasten to deal with our second main division. 



RHODODENDRON 



Hardy evergreen Rhododendrons may be divided 

 into two groups characterized by the nature of the 

 undersurface of the leaves. In one the underside of 

 the leaf is more or less densely dotted with small, 

 often brownish, scale-like glands; in the other it is 

 either smooth and green, or more or less hairy (often 

 densely felted) or clothed with a pale or dun-colored 

 crustaceous covering. 



(a) The group with dotted leaves is a very extensive 

 one and a great number of species grow on the moun- 

 tains of western China and on the Himalayas and three 

 (R. carolinianum, R. minus, and R. lapponicum) are 

 native of eastern North America. All have small or 

 comparatively small leaves but only a very limited 

 number have proved to be hardy and amenable to 

 cultivation in this country. Many of them may be 

 rooted from cuttings, but it has been found difficult to 

 hybridize them with members of other groups. As a 

 garden plant for this country, R. carolinianum is by 

 far the best species of this group and is one of the 

 very finest of all broad-leaved Evergreens hardy in 



