Catawba rosebay

Description

Rhododendron catawbiense, with common names Catawba rosebay, Catawba rhododendron, mountain rosebay, purple ivy, purple laurel, purple rhododendron, red laurel, rosebay, rosebay laurel, is a species of Rhododendron native to the eastern United States, growing mainly in the southern Appalachian Mountains from Virginia south to northern Alabama. It is a dense, suckering shrub growing to 3 m tall, rarely 5 m. The leaves are evergreen, 6–12 cm long and 2–4 cm broad. The flowers are 3-4.5 cm diameter, violet-purple, often with small spots or streaks. The fruit is a dry capsule 15–20 mm long, containing numerous small seeds. The species is named after the Catawba River. Rhododendron catawbiense belongs to the Subgenus Hymenanthes, within which it is further assigned to Section Ponticum and Subsection Pontica. The latter — one of the 24 subsections of Ponticum — also contains about a dozen other species. The taxonomy has been confused by a tendency to group all large leaved Rhododendrons under the catch-all R. catawbiense. Rhododendron catawbiense is cultivated as an ornamental plant, popular both in North America and in parts of Europe. It is primarily grown for its spring flower display. Outside of its native range, many cultivars and hybrids have been created, such as 'Purple Elegans', 'Roseus Elegans', and 'Grandiflorum'. 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.