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 minus   FAMILY Ericaceae   Go to FSUS key



SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron minus   FAMILY Ericaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America

Rhododendron minus var. minus

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-003:

Rhododendron minus   FAMILY Ericaceae

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

Rhododendron minus

 

COMMON NAME:
Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron


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

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    jkm0404c_18

April    Haywood County    NC

Corneille Bryan Native Garden

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    jkm0405w_06

May    Oconee County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District

People who eat honey made by bees that forage on Rhododendron may become ill, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    jkm200613_5888

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

Corolla tube longer than lobes (vs. tube of R. carolinianum shorter than to as long as lobes), per Weakley's Flora (2023).

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    jkm200613_5891

June    Jackson County    NC

Foothills Trail

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

Ron Lance    rwl_rhodo_minus

June    Jackson County    NC

Big Ridge Preserve

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

Ron Lance    rwl1227_a2

June        

Flowers pink to white, often spotted with green, in terminal clusters, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    jkm061103_036

November    Oconee County    SC

Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District

Somebody tell this plant that it's November.

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    s081221_a

December    Oconee County    SC

Leathery elliptical leaves sharply pointed at apex, wedge-shaped at base, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaves of Kalmia and Rhododendron species

image of Rhododendron minus, Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron

JK Marlow    s081221_b

December    Oconee County    SC

Lower surface of leaves punctate with brown scales, per Weakley's Flora.


click here to see other plants that look similar to this COMPARE leaf undersides of Kalmia and Rhododendron species

 

 

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

SYNONYMOUS WITH PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron minus   FAMILY Ericaceae

INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Rhododendron minus var. minus

INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-003:
Rhododendron minus   FAMILY Ericaceae

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

 

Find by SCIENTIFIC NAME:

1227

Shrub
Perennial

Habitat: Rocky slopes, escarpment gorges, rocky areas in the Piedmont, longleaf pine sandhill bluffs in the Coastal Plain, per Weakley's Flora

Native to the Carolinas & Georgia

Common in Mountains, uncommon in GA & SC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)

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

Click here to see a map showing all occurrences known to SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria. (Zoom in to see more detail.)

LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate

FLOWER:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Pink/White
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed campanulate to funnelform corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual

FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule

 

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



 


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