458 EEIOACEjE. Rhododendron. 



ous when the flowers develop. — Maximowicz, Rhodod. Asite Or. 1 3 ; Eenth. & 

 Hook. Gen. PL ii. 599. 



Rhododendrons and Azaleas, although different enough as to our common species, are quite un- 

 distinguishable when the whole are taken into view. 



R. albiflorum, Hook., of the woods of Oregon and northward, which may occur within the 

 limits of the State, is a species with lateral flowers and 10 stamens, but deciduous leaves. 



§ 1. Flowers from a large and, special scaly terminal bud : stamens 10 : leaves coria- 

 ceous and evergreen. — Euehododendron, Maxim. 



1. R. Californicum, Hook. Shrub 3 to 8 feet high, glabrous : leaves oblong, 

 with a short acute point, bright green above, pale beneath : umbel many-flowered : 

 calyx minute, slightly 5-lobed : corolla rose-purple, broadly campanulate ; the broad 

 lobes undulate, upper ones yellowish and spotted within : stamens shorter than the 

 corolla : filaments incurved at the apex : ovary silky-hairy : capsule oblong. — Bot. 

 Mag. t. 4863. 



Forests of the northern part of the State (Mendocino Co., &c.) extending to Oregon (E. Hall). 

 Shrub 3 to 8 feet high, resembling R. Catawbiense of the Alleghanies, but with more showy 

 flowers of about the same size. Leaves 4 to 6 inches long : corolla 2 inches or more in diameter. 

 This solitary Californian true Rhododendron or Rose Bay is well deserving of cultivation. 



§ 2. Flowers from a large and special scaly terminal bud, close below which are 

 separate leaf buds from which the shoots of the season proceed : stamens com- 

 monly 5 and exserted : leaves deciduous. — Azalea, Planchon, &c. (Azalea, 

 Linn., mainly.) 



2. R. occidentale, Gray. Shrub 2 to 6 feet high, with shoots glabrous or 

 minutely pubescent when young, not bristly : leaves obovate-oblong, sometimes 

 approaching lanceolate, bright-green and shining above, minutely pubescent, 

 glabrate, the margins minutely hispid-ciliate : scales of the flower-bud somewhat 

 canescent : flowers appearing after the leaves : sepals distinct, oblong or oval, con- 

 spicuous : corolla minutely viscid-pubescent outside, white, with the upper lobe yel- 

 low inside ; the narrow funnelform tube equalling the deeply 5-eleft slightly irreg- 

 ular limb ; the lobes ovate : stamens and style much exserted, moderately curved : 

 capsule oblong. — Azalea occidentalis, Torr. & Gray, Pacif. E. Eep. iv. 116; Hook. 

 Bot. Mag. t. 5005 ; Torr. Bot. Wilkes Exp. 381. A. calendulacea, var., Benth. 

 PI. Hartw. 321. Rhododendron calendulaceum, Hook. & Arn. Bot. Beechey, 362. 



In wooded districts along streams, almost throughout the State, extending to the mountains 

 east of San Diego, but common northward. Leaves 1J to 4 inches long, becoming of a rather 

 firm texture. Flowers 2J to 3 inches long, fragrant. This charming Californian Azalea, the 

 great ornament of the wooded districts, belongs rather to the group of the eastern R. viscosum 

 than to that of R. calendulaceum, the flowers appearing in summer or late spring, after the leaves 

 have developed. The bright green foliage makes a fine setting for the large and copious white or 

 sometimes slightly rosy flowers, variegated by a pale yellow band. The fragrance is unlike that 

 of the eastern species, and not so delicious. 



11. LEDUM, Linn. Labrador Tea. 



Calyx small, 5-eleft. Corolla of 5 distinct and spreading oval or oblong petals. 

 Stamens 4 to 10 : filaments filiform : cells of the anthers opening by a terminal pore. 

 Style filiform, persistent. Capsule. oval or oblong, septicidally 5-valved from the 

 base upwards : placenta? pendulous. Seeds slender, with a loose coat. — Low and 

 more or less evergreen shrubs ; with broad alternate entire leaves, their margins dis- 

 posed to be revolute, and the lower surface either resinous-dotted or rusty-woolly ; 

 the flowers small and white in a terminal umbel-like corymb, which is developed 

 from a large scaly bud, its thin scales or bracts deciduous when the flowers are 

 developed. 



