BHODODENDRON ARBOREUM. (Nat. order Ericaceae.) 



RHODODENDRON. Linn. — GEN. CHAR. Calyx free 5 lobed or toothed; oorol obliquely oampanulate rarely contracted into a narrow 

 tube, or rotate with scarcely any tube, 5 lobed or very rarely 10 lobed ; atamenB 10 or rarely more declinate, authers without awne, the cells opening in 

 terminal pores; ovary 5-10 celled; capsule opening septicidally in 5-10 valves. Trees or shrubs, leaves ever green entire often with a mealy or Ecaly 

 pubescence ; flowers in dense terminal corymbs or heads or rarely solitary issuing with the young leaves from scaly buds. 



RHODODENDRON ARBOREUM. (Smith.) A small or middling sized tree sometimes of considerable girtb, leaves 

 crowded at the ends of the branches very coriaceous lanceolate entire or slightly waved at the margin, glabrous above except the costa, 

 densely rusty beneath with copious close set brown scales, 3-4J inches long by 1J-1J broad, pinnate veins very prominent thick and 

 much raised on the under surface of the leaf, reticulated veinlets and venules very numerous and forming a very beautiful minute net 

 work (as seen under the lens when the dense mass of rusty scales is removed), petioles 4-7 lines long furnished with blackish pubes- 

 cence, flowers 1| to nearly 2 inches long bright crimson or rarely white or pale rose arranged in dense terminal compact heads or 

 corymbs, pedicels 4-5 lines long, densely covered as is the calyx with stellate pubescence which is snow-white when in flower and 

 reddish when in young fruit, a large very membranaceous silky obovato-spathulate pointed concave bract (about 1 inch long and \ inch 

 broad) at the base of each pedicel and 2 small subulate bracteoles on the pedicel either both near the base or one of them, sometimes 

 at the centre, all soon becoming scariose and early deciduous, calyx small rather irregularly 5-lobed, corol broadly tubular, the limb 

 shortly 5 -lobed, the lobes emarginate, stamens 10 very unequal in length, anther-cells broader upwards, filaments attached to near the 

 apex at the back, ovary densely sericeous with silky white hair, stigma large capitate depressed and hollow in the centre, young fruit 

 dotted with reddish-brown stellate pubescence, capsule narrow oblong slightly recurved quite glabrous in age about 1 inch long; 

 Smith in DC. Prod, vii. 720. 



This very gorgeous tree is most abundant on the Nilgiris, Pulneys, A namallays and Ceylon mountains, from an elevation of 4800 up- 

 wards, and if it is the true R. arboreum, it is also found in the Himalayas; but it is said to differ somewkatfrom the Himalayan tree, particularly 

 in the pubescence on the under surface of the leaves, and was long ago distinguished as R. nobile, though since joined with arboreum. I have however 

 no specimens of the Himalayan tree for comparison, but I have given a most detailed description and careful analysis from fresh specimens. The 

 wood is occasionally used for gun stocks, posts and other purposes ; it is close in the grain, but wanting in fibre and shrinks and twists in seasoning. 

 The tree is called Billee and Poomaram on theNilgiris, and Ma-raimal in Ceylon; it is to be found in flower all the year round, but most profusely 

 so in February. 



Analysis. 



1. Under surface of a leaf showing the dense matted pubescence and the prominently raised veins. 



2. A flower bud with the large bract and 2 bracteoles. 



3. A full flower. 



4. The large concave bract. 



5. Front and back view of the bracteoles. 



6. A flower, corol removed to show the 10 declinate unequal stamens, the bract and bracteoles attached to the base of 



the pedicel. 



7. Corol opened. 



8. Ovary and style. 



9. Pedicel and calyx, showing the two bracteoles attached to the base of the flower. 



10. The same only with one of the bracteoles attached half way up the pedicel. 



1 1 . The stellate tuft of hairs which forms the pubescence on the calyx, and pedicels. 



12. Anther front view, showing the 2 pores at the apex of the cells. 



13. Anther back view, showing the attachment of the filament. 



14. The same, side view. 



15. Ovary cut vertically. 



16. Very young fruit cut transversely. 



17. Young fruit. 



18. The ripe capsule burst septicidally (the seed removed), showing the valves separated from the plancentiferous axis which 



bears the seed. 



19. Inside view of one of the valves. 



20. Side view of a portion of the same. (Drawn from fresh specimens.) 



228 



