Rhododendron macrophyllum |
Rhododendron viscosum |
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big leaf rhododendron, California rhododendron, California rose bay, coast rhododendron, Pacific rhododendron, western rhododendron |
clammy azalea, swamp azalea |
|
Habit | Shrubs or trees, to 5 m, sometimes rhizomatous. | Shrubs or trees, to 7 m, rhizomatous or not. |
Stems | bark smooth to vertically furrowed, shredding; twigs with basally branched, crisped/matted, eglandular hairs, very quickly glabrate. |
bark smooth to vertically furrowed, shredding; twigs sparsely to conspicuously multicellular eglandular-hairy (hairs unbranched), otherwise glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy. |
Leaves | persistent; petiole glabrous; blade elliptic to slightly ovate or obovate, (6–)8.5–14(–20) × 2.5–5.5(–7.5) cm, thick, coriaceous, margins entire, plane to revolute, glabrous, apex acute to obtuse or slightly acuminate, surfaces scattered eglandular-hairy (hairs branched basally, crisped, very quickly deciduous), abaxial surface ± smooth. |
deciduous; petiole usually multicellular eglandular-hairy and unicellular-hairy; blade ovate to obovate, 2–7(–9) × 1–3(–3.8) cm, ± thin, membranous to chartaceous, margins entire or, sometimes, minutely serrulate, plane, ciliate, eglandular-hairy, apex acute to obtuse, often mucronate, abaxial surface glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy, adaxial surface (lustrous or dull), glabrous or sparsely scattered eglandular-hairy, sometimes also sparsely unicellular-hairy. |
Inflorescences | 10–20-flowered; bracts similar to bud scales. |
3–14-flowered; bracts similar to bud scales. |
Pedicels | 30–60 mm, glabrous. |
5–27 mm, stipitate-glandular- or, sometimes, eglandular-hairy, otherwise sparsely to densely unicellular-hairy. |
Flowers | opening after development of leaves (of flowering shoots), erect to horizontal, fragrant; calyx lobes 1–1.5 mm, glabrous, except margins eglandular- and stipitate-glandular-hairy; corolla white to pink or rose-purple, with yellowish green spots on upper lobe, broadly campanulate, 24–48 mm, outer surface glabrous, petals connate, lobes 14–30 mm, tube gradually expanding into lobes, 10–23 mm; stamens 10, included, ± unequal, 16–37 mm. |
opening after leaves, erect to horizontal, slightly to strongly fragrant (most noticeable at night); calyx lobes 0.5–5 mm, surfaces and margins scattered stipitate-glandular-hairy or, sometimes, eglandular-hairy, often also unicellular-hairy; corolla white, sometimes pink-tinged or pink (not strongly contrasting with white or greenish to pinkish style or filaments), without blotch on upper lobe, funnelform, 20–58 mm, usually scattered, often conspicuously stipitate-glandular-hairy (hairs continuing in lines up lobes), otherwise sparsely to moderately unicellular-hairy on outer surface, petals connate, lobes 7–21 mm, tube usually ± gradually expanded into lobes, 13–37 mm (equaling or much longer than lobes); stamens 5, much exserted, ± unequal, 21–65 mm. |
Capsules | borne on erect pedicels, 13–25 × 4–7 mm, eglandular-hairy (hairs ferruginous, branched or unbranched) and, often, stipitate-glandular-hairy. |
borne on erect pedicels, 7–20 × 3–7 mm, usually densely stipitate-glandular- and/or eglandular-hairy, otherwise densely unicellular-hairy to ± glabrous. |
Seeds | without distinct tails, flattened portion of testa well developed at each end; testa expanded, dorsiventrally flattened, loose. |
without distinct tails, flattened portion of testa well developed at each end; testa expanded, dorsiventrally flattened, ± loose. |
Floral | bud scales multicellular eglandular-hairy (hairs branched basally), and unicellular-hairy (hairs short to elongate) abaxially, margins eglandular-hairy (hairs branched). |
bud scales glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy abaxially (sometimes with sharply marked, dark brown band along distal margins), margins unicellular-ciliate or, sometimes, glandular-serrulate. |
2n | = 26. |
= 26. |
Rhododendron macrophyllum |
Rhododendron viscosum |
|
Phenology | Flowering spring–summer. | Flowering spring–summer. |
Habitat | Forest and forest margins, thickets | Acid swamps, bogs, seepage slopes, pocosins, streamheads and baygalls, wet pine flatwoods, moist pine or pine/oak forests, hummocks, shrub balds |
Elevation | 50-1600 m (200-5200 ft) | 0-1500 m (0-4900 ft) |
Distribution |
CA; OR; WA; BC
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AL; AR; CT; DE; FL; GA; LA; MA; MD; ME; MS; NC; NH; NJ; NY; OK; PA; RI; SC; TN; TX; VA; VT
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Discussion | Rhododendron macrophyllum, R. maximum, and R. catawbiense represent subg. Hymenanthes (Blume) K. Koch in North America; the subgenus is represented by hundreds of species in temperate eastern Asia and is characterized by its branched, eglandular hairs (D. F. Chamberlain 1982). These showy plants are frequently used as ornamentals. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Rhododendron viscosum is the most widespread and variable species of sect. Pentanthera and has been divided into as many as four species: R. coryi, R. oblongifolium, R. serrulatum, and R. viscosum in the narrow sense. In addition, minor varieties and forms have been described. Because correlated or geographically coherent sets of character states cannot be discerned within this species, infraspecific taxa are not recognized here (K. A. Kron 1993). Rhododendron viscosum is most closely related to R. arborescens, and possibly also R. atlanticum. Hybrids with R. cumberlandense and R. arborescens are known. Plants with white corollas and a yellow blotch may be the result of hybridization. (Discussion copyrighted by Flora of North America; reprinted with permission.) |
Source | FNA vol. 8, p. 462. | FNA vol. 8, p. 471. |
Parent taxa | Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Rhododendron | Ericaceae > subfam. Ericoideae > Rhododendron |
Sibling taxa | ||
Synonyms | R. californicum | Azalea viscosa, Azalea oblongifolia, Azalea serrulata, R. coryi, R. oblongifolium, R. serrulatum, R. viscosum var. serrulatum |
Name authority | D. Don ex G. Don: Gen. Hist. 3: 843. 1834 , | (Linnaeus) Torrey: Fl. N. Middle United States, 424. 1824 , |
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