FLOWERING TEEES AND SHRUBS 155 



coloured flowers. It is very hardy, and a desirable 

 acquisition to any collection of small-growing shrubs. 



R. occidentale (syn Azalea oocidentalis), Western 

 Azalea, is valuable in that the flowers are produced later 

 than those of almost any other species. These are white, 

 blotched with yellow at the base of the upper petals ; and 

 being produced when the leaves are almost fully developed, 

 have a very pleasing effect, particularly as they are borne 

 in great quantity, and show well above the foliage. This 

 is a Galifornian species that has been found further west 

 of the Rocky Mountains than any other member of the 

 family. 



R. pabvifolium (1877). — This is a pleasing and interest- 

 ing species, with small, deep-green ovate leaves, and 

 clusters of white flowers, margined with rose. It is of 

 dwarf and neat growth, and well suited for planting on the 

 rock garden. 



R. ponticum. — Pontic Rhododendron, or Rose Bay. 

 Asia Minor, 1763. This is the commonest species in cul- 

 tivation, and although originally a native of the district 

 by the Black or Pontic Sea, is now naturalized in many 

 parts of Europe. It is the hardiest and least exacting of 

 the large-flowered species, and is generally employed as a 

 stock on which to graft the less hardy kinds. Flowers, 

 in the typical species, pale purplish-violet and spotted. 

 There is a great number of varieties, including white, 

 pink, scarlet, and double-flowering. 



R. ponticum azaleoides (syn R. ponticum deciduum), a 

 hybrid between R. ponticum and a hardy Azalea, is a 

 sub-evergreen form, with a compact habit of growth, and 

 bearing loose heads of fragrant lavender-and-white flowers. 

 It is quite hardy at Kew. , 



R. eacemosum. — Central China, 1880. A neat little 

 species, of dwarf, compact growth, from the Yunnan 

 district of China. The flowers are pale pink edged with a 

 deeper tint, about an inch across, and borne in dense 



