Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron prinophyllum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Election Pink at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
R. prinophyllum is a member of what the Azalea Society of America refers to as "the pink group". Read more here.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron prinophyllum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhododendron prinophyllum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-007:
Rhododendron roseum FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Azalea prinophylla
COMMON NAME:
Election Pink, Roseshell Azalea, Early Azalea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
Ron Lance rwl1231_a
April
Shorter tubes than the other 2 fragrant pink species, per American Azaleas (Towe, 2004).
)
Keith Bradley kab_r_prinophyllum_9417
June Madison County VA
Shenandoah National Park
Upper corolla lobe uniform in color (lacking a contrasting blotch), per Weakley's Flora (2015).
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron prinophyllum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron prinophyllum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Rhododendron prinophyllum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-007:
Rhododendron roseum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Azalea prinophylla
1231
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Upland forests (especially under Quercus montana and Quercus rubra), xeric pine and oak woodlands, per Weakley's Flora
Native to North Carolina & Georgia
Rare
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Pink
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed funnelform corolla
5 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- American Azaleas (Towe, 2004) p025
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p084
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p256
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p219
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p106
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p300
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p290
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".