Rhododendron dauricum

Description

Rhododendron dauricum is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae native to forests and forest margins in Eastern Siberia, Mongolia, North China and Hokkaido, Japan. The Latin specific epithet dauricum means "from Siberia"– Transbaikal is also known as Dauria. Growing to 1.5 m (5 ft) tall and broad, it is a compact semi-evergreen shrub with purple flowers which open in late winter or early spring, before the dark green leaves appear. R. dauricum is the basis of the PJM hybrid (Rhododendron dauricum × Rhododendron carolinianum). The cultivar ‘Mid-winter’, with bright pink flowers, has gained the Royal Horticultural Society’s Award of Garden Merit. It is hardy down to −20 °C (−4 °F), but like all rhododendrons requires a sheltered position in dappled shade and acid soil enriched with leaf mould. Rhododendron, (from Ancient Greek rhódon "rose" and déndron "tree") is a very large genus of 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). It is either evergreen or deciduous and found mainly in Asia, although it is also widespread throughout lowland and montane forests in the Pacific Northwest, California, the Northeastern United States, and especially in the highlands of the Appalachian Mountains of North America. It is the national flower of Nepal, the state flower of Washington and West Virginia in the United States, the state flower of Nagaland in India, the provincial flower of Jiangxi in China and the state tree of Sikkim and Uttarakhand in India. Most species have brightly colored flowers which bloom from late winter through to early summer. Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendron. They are distinguished from "true" rhododendrons by having only five anthers per flower. Rhododendron is a genus of shrubs and small to (rarely) large trees, the smallest species growing to 10–100 cm (4–40 in) tall, and the largest, R. protistum var. giganteum, reported to 30 m (100 ft) tall. The leaves are spirally arranged; leaf size can range from 1–2 cm (0.4–0.8 in) to over 50 cm (20 in), exceptionally 100 cm (40 in) in R. sinogrande. They may be either evergreen or deciduous. In some species, the undersides of the leaves are covered with scales (lepidote) or hairs (indumentum). Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large flowers.