tKf)t Eftobobenbron ^ote:S 
It would seem to be the case that Americans paid but little attention to the 
Fauna and Flora of their own country in the early part of the last century and 
prior to this date. Nearly all work for the discovery of new species was done 
by Englishmen, who travelled into the comparatively unknown wilds and 
gathered new treasures, which they sent for identification to scientists and 
nursery gardeners in England. Our people, however, seem to have confined 
their attention at first more to the crossing of the evergreen species of 
Rhododendrons, using such few species as R. catawbiense, R. maximum, and 
the eastern R. ponticum, R. caucasicum and R. arboreum, rather than the 
American Azaleas. 
The first hybrid raised in England (about the year 1810), occurred in Mr. 
Thompson’s nursery in London, through the accidental crossing of R. ponticum 
and R. nudiflorum. It is still well known as R. “ odoratum ” or R. 
" AZALEOiDES.” From this Dr. Masters invented the name “ Azaleodendron " 
to distinguish the group of hybrids between evergreen Rhododendrons and 
deciduous Azaleas, R. " Gowenianum,” R. “odoratum,” R. “Williamsii,” 
etc., being well-known examples. About the year 1826, the Earl of Liverpool, 
Mr. Gowen (head gardener to the Earl of Carnarvon) and Dean Herbert worked 
successfully in obtaining many hybrids, chiefly amongst evergreen species. 
Mr. Gowen, however, created several hybrids between American Azaleas and 
eastern species, whilst Dean Herbert mated many evergreen Rhododendrons 
with Pontic and American Azaleas. What has become of the hybrids raised by 
the last named we do not know, but many of Mr. Gowen’s hybrids are still in 
existence, such as R. " Cartoni ” (R. nudiflorum x R. catawbiense) and 
R. “ Gowenianum ” (R. nudiflorum x R. viscosum x R. ponticum x R. 
catawbiense). In 1829, E. Smith, of Surbiton, also made numerous crosses 
with American and other Azaleas. 
The first man in Europe to grasp the commercial possibilities of the American 
Azaleas was a Belgian baker named Mortier, who lived in the town of Ghent, and 
as far as we can ascertain he commenced to work about the year 1815, using such 
species as R. calendulaceum, R. nudiflorum, R. viscosum, R. canescens, 
and possibly R. arborescens. There is little doubt that he also used as a parent 
(to get intense yellow) R. flavum (A. pontica). Professor Sargent considers 
that, as Mortier was the originator of the Ghent Azaleas, they should in future 
be known as R. " Mortieri ” (A. “ Mortieri ”). It appears that by 1829, the 
Belgian nurserymen had seriously adopted Mortier hybrids and were annually 
adding large numbers of their own raising. These hybrids were found to be very 
popular and were exported in large numbers to all parts of Europe and America. 
About the year 1830 English nurser 3 Tnen commenced the creation of these 
hybrids on similar lines, the most active workers being Lee and Kennedy and the 
Waterers, whilst Osborne, of Fulham, followed a little later. 
In 1836 Loudon in his catalogue gives a long list of named varieties, whilst 
Loddiges at this date enumerated 107 varieties, a smaller number only being 
given in his catalogues of 1820 and 1823. At the same date (1836), the culture 
of American Azaleas crossed with R. flavum (A. pontica) and R. molle (A. 
mollis et A. SINENSE ?) was extensively undertaken in France, as we see from 
Cels catalogue of that date. 
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