CHAPTER III 
RHODODENDRONS IN NATURE 
The species of Rhododendron are widely distributed. They 
occupy in the flora of those countries where they are 
abundant the same position as the Heaths do in others ; 
indeed, in their effect upon other forms of vegetation, 
there is a close similarity between Heaths and Rhodo- 
dendrons. They monopolise considerable areas, few other 
plants being able to hold their own against them. They 
object to soils containing lime or chalk, preferring peat, 
and they love the open country. None of the species 
can rightly be called tropical, those found in the tropical 
zone, as, for instance, the Malaya, New Guinea, and 
Philippine species, occurring at considerable elevations 
where the conditions are temperate or sub-tropical. The 
limits of their distribution appear to be the cold of 
Lapland, Kamtschatka, and Siberia, and the intermediate 
conditions of the mountains of Java and New Guinea. 
There are none in New Zealand, none in Africa, where 
Heaths abound, and none in South America, the plants 
known as Andean Rhododendrons being Befarias. Con- 
sidering their abundance in Northern Asia, it is surpris- 
ing that there are so few in North America, where the 
conditions appear to be suitable for them. 
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