Genus 4. 



HEATH FAMILY. 



681 



Great Laurel. Rose Bay. 



2. Rhododendron maximum L. 



Rhododendron ma.ximum L Sp. PI. 392. 1753. 



A tall shrub, or sometimes a tree, with 

 maximum height of about 40° and trunk diam- 

 eter of 1°. Leaves oblong, lanceolate-oblong 

 or broadly oblanceolate, dark green on both 

 sides, acute or abruptly short-acuminate at the 

 apex, narrowed to a mostly acute base, 4'-;' 

 long, i'-2j' wide, glabrous, drooping in winter ; 

 petioles stout, ¥-1' long; pedicels glandular, 

 viscid-pubescent, 1-2' long; corolla ii'-2' 

 broad, about i' long, rather deeply 5-cleft into 

 oval obtuse lobes, rose-color, varying to white, 

 sprinkled with yellowish or orange spots 

 within; calyx-lobes oblong, obtuse; capsule 

 oblong, puberulent, s"-;" high. 



In low woods and along streams, Nova Scotia, 

 Quebec, Ontario and Ohio to Georgia and Ala- 

 bama, chiefly along the mountains, often forming 

 almost impenetrable thickets. Wood hard, strong, 

 light brown ; weight per cubic foot 39 lbs. Deer- 

 laurel. Big-leaf laurel. Wild or dwarf rose-bay. 

 Cow-plant. Spoon-hutch. Mountain, horse- or 

 bee-laurel. June-July. 



3. Rhododendron catawbiense Michx. 

 Mountain Rose Bay. Catawba or Caro- 

 lina Rhododendron. Fig. 3223. 



Rhododendron catawbiense Michx. Fl. Bor. Am. i • 

 ^58. 1803. 



A shrub, 3°-2o° high. Leaves oval or broadly 

 oblong, mostly rounded or obtuse at both ends, 

 sometimes narrowed at the base, mucronate, 3-5' 

 long, ii'-2' wide, dark green above, paler be- 

 neath ; petioles stout, ¥-i¥ long, pubescent when 

 young; pedicels rather stout, pubescent, becom- 

 ing glabrous ; corolla lilac-purple, i J'-2' long, 

 2'-2i' broad, S-lobed, the lobes broad and 

 rounded ; calyx-lobes triangular-ovate, acute or 

 acuminate, short; capsule linear-oblong, puberu- 

 lent, 8"-io" high. 



Mountain summits, Virginia and West Virginia 

 to Georgia and Tennessee. Laurel. May-June. 



5. MENZIESIA J. E. Smith, Icon. Ined. 3. pi. 56. 1791. 



Erect .branching shrubs, with alternate membranous entire deciduous leaves, and small 

 nodding greenish purple slender-pedicelled flowers, in terminal corymbs or umbels, devel- 

 oped from scaly buds. Calyx 4-toothed or 4-parted, persistent. Corolla urceolate-cylindric, 

 or nearly globose, 4-toothed or 4-lobed. Stamens 8, included ; filaments subulate, flattish, 

 slightly dilated below ; anthers linear-oblong, awnless, attached by their backs to the fila- 

 ments, the sacs opening by terminal pores or chinks. Disk obscurely 8-crenate. Ovary 

 mostly 4-celled; ovules numerous; style filiform; stigma 4-lobed or 4-toothed. Capsule sub- 

 globose or ovoid, 4-celled, septicidally 4-valved, many-seeded. Seeds slender, the testa 

 membranous, prolonged at both ends. Parts of the flower rarely in s's. [Named in honor 

 of Archibald Menzies, surgeon and naturalist, died 1842.] 



About 7 species, natives of North America and Japan. Besides the following, 2 others occur in 

 the northwestern parts of North America. Type species: Mensiesia ferruginea J. E. Smith. 

 Filaments glabrous ; seeds pointed at each end. i. M. pilosa. 



Filaments pubescent below ; seeds long-appendaged at each end. 2. M. glabella. 



