Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Rhododendron pilosum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Minniebush at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
The very prominent mucro on the leaves and the series of fascicles of glandular trichomes along the leaf midrib below readily distinguish the species in sterile condition from other deciduous Rhododendron, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Menziesia pilosa
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhododendron pilosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Diplarche and Menziesia transferred to Rhododendron (Craven, 2011)
Rhododendron pilosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8 (2009)
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-06-001:
Menziesia pilosa FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH Andre Michaux
Azalea pilosa
COMMON NAME:
Minniebush
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_mepi2_001_lvd
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_468
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_471
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Vegetation resembles that of azaleas & blueberries, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_471b
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Leaves mostly 1-2" long, tip mucronate, ciliate on margin, hairy, per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_481
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_485
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Bark is grayish to light brown, usually papery and exfoliating, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_621
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Small urn-shaped flowers, corolla greenish-white, often with a reddish tinge, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm230609_4052
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm230609_4052b
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
Distinguished in sterile condition from other deciduous Rhodo by leaves' very prominent mucro and...
)
JK Marlow jkm230609_4057
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
... the series of fascicles of glandular trichomes along the leaf midrib below, per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmpilosa_cg1
June
)
Patrick D. McMillan pdmmpilosa_ls
June?
)
JK Marlow jkm0508c_25
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm0508c_25b
August Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm180821_3925
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm180821_3927
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
The midrib below with ragged, scaly "joints", per Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance).
)
JK Marlow jkm180821_3933
August Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
Ron Lance rwl930_a
September
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/14/23):
Rhododendron pilosum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Menziesia pilosa
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America. BONAP (Kartesz, 2021)
Rhododendron pilosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Diplarche and Menziesia transferred to Rhododendron (Craven, 2011)
Rhododendron pilosum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America north of Mexico, vol. 8
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Floristic Synthesis of North America (Kartesz, 1999)
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-06-001:
Menziesia pilosa
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Menziesia pilosa
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Andre Michaux
Azalea pilosa
930
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Heath balds, bogs, rocky summits, and rocky woodlands, mostly at high elevations, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in NC Mountains (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Greenish-white/Reddish-pink
4-lobed calyx
4-lobed urceolate corolla
8 included stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p220
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p109
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p178
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p28
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p295
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p214
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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