426 



TREES AND SHRUBS 



Name. 



Country or 



Origin and 



Natural Order, 



Colour 



AND 



Season. 



General Remarks. 



* Rhododendrons 

 (Azaleas) 



For many years the hardy, 

 deciduous Rhododendrons 

 were known only as Azaleas, 

 and in many places the name 

 Azalea is still maintained. 

 When the two sections — 

 deciduous and evergreen — 

 are compared it will be at 

 once seen that there is no 

 real structural difference be- 

 tween them. Although in 

 the making of the two genera 

 the number of stamens was 

 considered one of the prin- 

 cipal points, it has since been 

 shown that it is a point un- 

 worthy of notice, as the 

 number of stamens varies 

 considerably in both decidu- 

 ous and evergreen species. 

 It is doubtful whether the 

 name of Azalea vrill disap- 

 pear, but we are following 

 here the latest classification, 

 and therefore place the 

 "Azalea" in its proper 

 group. About 20 species 

 have been known under the 

 name of Azalea, 3 or 4 of 

 which are evergreen, and 

 the remainder deciduous. 

 Of these about half-a-dozen 

 are really well known in 

 gardens, either by the type 

 plants, hybrids, or garden 

 forms. The majority of the 

 species belong to China and 

 Japan and North America, 

 one species being found in 

 the Caucasus. Several of 

 the North American species, 

 such as R. arborescens, 

 calendulaceum, nudiflorum, 

 &c. , the Chinese and Japanese 

 species R. sinense (better 

 known as Azalea mollis), and 

 the Caucasian flavum (Syn 

 Azalea pontica), have proved 

 splendid breeders, and in 

 the hands of the hybridist 

 a wonderful assortment of 

 varieties has been obtained, 

 which for delicate shades 

 and rich self-colourings are 

 unsurpassed among hardy 

 shrubs. The colours range 

 from white to pink and from 

 pink to blood - red, from 

 lemon to deep yellow and 

 orange -scarlet, with all de- 

 scriptions of intervening 



