CHAP. LXIX. ER]CA S CEM. iZHODODE'NDRON. 1131 



§ i. Politician D. Don. 



Sect. Char. Limb of calyx short, 5-lobed. Corolla campanulatc. Sta- 

 mens 10. Ovarium 5-celled. Leaves coriaceous, evergreen. (Don's 

 Mill., iii. p. 843.) 



* I. R. po'nticum L. The Pontic Rhododendron, or Rose Bay. 



Identification. Lin. Sp., 562. ; Don's Mill., 3. p. 843. ; Lodd. Cat., ed. 1836.. 



Engravings. Pall. Fl. Ross., 1. p. 43. t. 29. ; Jacq. Icon. Rar., 1. t. 78. ; Lam. 111., t. 364. ; Bot. Mag., 

 t. 650. ; and our Jig. 931. 



Sjjcc. Char., eye. Leaves oblong-lanceolate, glabrous on 

 both surfaces, attenuated towards the thick petioles, 

 with a streak on the upper surface, of a wide lanceolate 

 form. Racemes short, corymbose. Leaves sometimes 

 becoming ferruginous beneath. Corolla purple, or pur- 

 plish pink, large; with ovate, acute, or lanceolate 

 segments. Calyx minute, 5-toothed, somewhat cartila- 

 ginous. (Don's Mill., iii. p. 843.) An evergreen shrub ; 

 a native of Pontus (now Armenia), in Asia Minor, 

 where it grows to the height of 10ft. or 12 ft.; flower- 

 ing in May and June. It was introduced in 1763, and 

 is frequent in British gardens. 



Varieties. 



m R. p. 2 obtusum Wats. Dend. Brit., t. 162., Don's Mill., iii. p. 843., 

 has the leaves subcordate, coriaceous, obtuse, and the calyx very 

 short, and unequally and undulately crenated. It grows from 3 ft. to 

 4 ft. high, and has purple flowers, Found wild in Armenia. 



* R. p. 3 myrtifolium Lodd. Bot. Cab., t. 908., Don's Mill., iii. p. 843., 



has the leaves small, and the flowers purple. It is a native of 

 Gibraltar. 



* R. p. 4 Smitlm Sivt. Brit. Fl.-Gard., n. s., t. 50., Don's Mill, iii. p. 843., 



has the leaves lanceolate, and clothed with white tomentum beneath ; 

 corymbs many-flowered; ovarium tomentose, and 10-celled. The 

 flowers are of a rosy purple, approaching to crimson, elegantly spotted 

 with black. A hybrid, raised by Mr. Smith, at Coombe Wood, from 

 the seed of R. ponticum, impregnated by the pollen of R. arboreum* 



* R. p. 5 LovAi Gard. Mag., vol. xi. p. 190. Corolla white; the upper 



segments marked by a few dull scarlet spots. This is a most striking 

 variety, originated by M. Jacob Makoy. It is named after Mr. 

 Low of Clapton. 

 ^ * R. p. 6 azaleoides; R. azaleoides Desf. ; R. p. /3 subdeciduum Andr. 

 Bot. Rep., t. 379., Hayn. Abbild., t. 15. ; is a hybrid between R. pon- 

 ticum and some species of Azalea, with fragrant blossoms. It was 

 originated about 1820, and is a favourite in collections. There is a 

 subvariety, H.p. a. 2 odordtum Lodd. Cat., in which the flowers are 

 supposed to be more odoriferous than in R. p. azaleoides. 



Nursery Varieties. The following are cultivated by Messrs. Loddiges. 



(Catalogue of Plants, fyc., at Hackney, 16th ed., 1836.) 



R. p. album. R. p. fl. pleno. R. p. macrophyllum. 



angustifblium. fol. argenteis. nivaticum. 



angustissimum. . fol. aureis. obtCisum. 



arbutifblium. fol. marginatis. ovatum. 



bromeh'a'fdtium frondbsum. pygmae v um. 



bullatum. grandiflbrum. roseum. 



cassine fbliura. incarnatum. salicifblium. 



ca?rultlscens. intermedium. spectabile. 



contbrtum. kalmiafdlium. fiolaceum. 

 cn'spum. 



Descrijytion. The Rhododendron ponticum is the commonest species of 

 the genus in British gardens, where it grows to the height of from 5 ft. to 

 15 ft., or upwards; forming a dense bush, which will spread over a large 



