OF THE CAROLINAS & GEORGIA

Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America

Rhododendron arborescens

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-012:

Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)

Azalea arborescens

 

COMMON NAME:
Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea


         To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913    pnd_azar_001_lvd

        

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm0406i_03

June    Macon County    NC

Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald

SC's only azalea with white-pink flowers and hairless stems and leaves, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm0406i_03b

June    Macon County    NC

Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald

Flowers typically have red pistils and filaments, and are fragrant, per American Azaleas (Towe, 2004).

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm220605_8268

June    Greenville County    SC

Chandler Heritage Preserve

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm220607_8342

June    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

Flowers very sticky-hairy on the outside, the corolla tube longer than the lobes, very fragrant, per How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966).

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm220607_8342b

June    Greenville County    SC

Bald Rock Heritage Preserve

Sepals 1.5-5mm long, per Weakley's Flora (2022).

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm230609_3909

June    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm230609_3915

June    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

Leaves elliptic or broadest above the middle, wedge-shaped at base, short-pointed to blunt at tip...

image of Rhododendron arborescens, Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

JK Marlow    jkm230609_3915b

June    Jackson County    NC

Whiteside Mountain

...leaf margin fringed with short hairs, thick & firm in texture, dark green & lustrous above..., per How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966).

 

 

WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhododendron arborescens

SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-012:
Rhododendron arborescens   FAMILY Ericaceae

SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Azalea arborescens

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1217

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Rocky riversides, wooded stream banks, swamps, high elevation forests, shrub balds, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Mountains, uncommon in Piedmont, rare in Coastal Plain

map
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.

LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
White (rarely pink)
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed funnelform corolla
5 stamens, noticeably shorter than pistil
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!



 


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