FOREST TREES. 237 
1. Rhododendron maximum—Great Laurel. 
Leaves, elliptical, oblong or lance-oblong, acute, 
narrowed towards the base, very smooth, with some- 
what revolute margins; corolla, bell-shaped. 
This species is found in New England, but much 
more abundantly further south. Cool, moist, deeply- 
shaded situations seem most congenial to its nature. 
It abounds on the banks of torrents among the Alle- 
ghany Mountains, and grows in the miry soil of 
Cedar swamps. It isa plant of great beauty, both 
of flowers and foliage. It is most commonly a shrub 
not more than ten feet high, but sometimes reaches 
twenty or twenty-five feet. The flowers are usually 
rose-colored with yellow dots inside, but are some- 
times pure white. The leaves are very thick and 
smooth, and are from four to ten inches long. 
Although a native of several of the Northern 
States, this species appears to be much less common 
in cultivation than the R. Catawbiense. This is 
probably owing to its greater shyness of cultivation 
in gardens, where it is not always practicable to give 
it the moist atmosphere and shade which seem to be 
indispensable. 
2. Rhododendron Catawbiense—Rose bay. 
Leaves, oval or oblong, rounded at both ends, 
smooth, pale beneath, three to five inches long; 
corolla, broadly bell-shaped, lilac purple; pedicels, 
rusty, downy. 
The high summits of the Alleghanies, from Vir- 
ginia southward, are the native home of this species, 
