Native and naturalized plants
Native and naturalized plants of the Carolinas and Georgia, eastern Tennessee and northern Florida

1217
Weakley's Flora ( 4/7/08 ): Ericaceae
Rhododendron arborescens

SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS National Database: Ericaceae
Rhododendron arborescens

SYNONYMOUS WITH
Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (1968): Ericaceae
145-05-012
Rhododendron arborescens

Common Name:
Sweet Azalea, Smooth Azalea

Shrub
Perennial
Deciduous

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common
Documented growing wild in GA NC SC

Look for it on rocky riversides, wooded streambanks, swamps, high elevation forests, shrub balds, per Weakley's Flora



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...Moist

Leaves:
Simple
Alternate

Flower:
Spring/Summer
White/Rarely pink
Bisexual
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
petals fused
5 stamens, noticeably shorter than pistil
Superior ovary

Fruit:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

To learn more about this plant, look it up in a good book!
A Guide to the Wildflowers of SC p124
Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee p254
Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast p108
Newcomb's Wildflower Guide p300
Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge p28




Click picture for larger image.

image of Rhododendron arborescens, image of Rhododendron arborescens
JK Marlow      jkm0406g_33


June
Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald

The only SC azalea with white-pink flowers & hairless stems & leaves, per A Guide to the Wildflowers of SC.

 

image of Rhododendron arborescens, image of Rhododendron arborescens
JK Marlow      jkm0406i_03


June
Macon County NC
Nantahala National Forest: Wayah Bald

 

image of Rhododendron arborescens, image of Rhododendron arborescens
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.

 

image of Rhododendron arborescens, image of Rhododendron arborescens
Ron Lance      rwl1217_a


June

 

"Hemlock woolly adelgids were first introduced to the Pacific Northwest in 1927, where they are a minor problem on western hemlocks. The real trouble started when they were shipped (on nursery stock) to Virginia in the 1950s. These insects are lethal to eastern hemlock and can kill mature trees in one to four years." — Douglas W. Tallamy, Bringing Nature Home