THE WOODLAND ROAD. 79 



of Rhododendron Catawbiense (a native species) and 

 R. arboreum ; the latter is a species which comes 

 from the Himalayas, and is not hardy. R. Ponticum 

 is a species from Asia Minor, hardy in the North, bnt 

 only as a low shrub ; this has a dark magenta-purple 

 flower, which appears in late spring. The hybrid 

 rhododendrons are of various colors ; those partaking 

 chiefly of the Catawbiense characteristics are distin- 

 guished by broad, flat, broad-pointed glossy leaves, and 

 purple or light lilac-blue flowers. A prominent char- 

 acteristic of the rhododendron is the large conical 

 bud which passes through the severe cold of our 

 Northern winters unharmed, and the gracefully 

 drooping, evergreen leaves clustered in a circle below 

 the bud which terminates the branchlet. 



Beside the road where the swampy ground meets 

 its borders we will possibly meet in May the " leafless 

 blooms " of the delicate magenta-pink rhodora {^Rho- 

 dodendron Rhodora), about the charms of which 

 Emerson sang. I never thought the flower a " rival 

 of the rose," nor have I been particularly impressed 

 vnth its beauty ; its color is too near the unpopular 

 magenta to make it a favorite with anybody but an 

 enthusiastic poet. But the magenta flower is ex- 

 tremely dainty in form, and so long as the tardy New 

 England spring brings a mere handful of rival blos- 

 soms, this one appears as beautiful and showy as one 



