FLAME AZALEA 



Azalea lutea Linnaeus 



The flame azalea is the most conspicuous of the native members of 

 this genus. Its brilliant orange or yellow coloring, frequently suffused 

 with red, attracts attention even from a distance, and when the 

 mountain sides are flecked with it, the effect is particularly striking. 

 The green leaves, which are well developed before the flowers open, 

 add greatly to the beauty of the plant. It yields easily to cultivation and 

 under favorable conditions, when grown with other plants requir- 

 ing an acid soil, is one of the loveliest native shrubs for planting. 



Flame azalea is a typical member of the flora of our Southern 

 Appalachians, ranging from the uplands of Georgia northward, and 

 being abundant as far as West Virginia. In the mountains of Pennsyl- 

 vania it is rare, and though reported many years ago to grow in south- 

 ern New York State, it has long since disappeared from there as a 

 native plant. 



The sketch was made from a specimen obtained near Linville, 

 North Carolina. 



PLATE 43 



