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rhododendron[rO´´duden´drun] Pronunciation Key [Gr.,=rose tree], any plant of the genus Rhododendron, shrubs of the family Ericaceae (heath family) found chiefly in mountainous areas of the arctic and north temperate regions and also of the mountainous tropics. They are particularly abundant in Asia, whence many of the popular cultivated species and hybrids derive. They commonly have large, shining, leathery, evergreen leaves and clusters of large pink, white, or purplish flowers. Native American species include the great laurel, or rose bay (R. maximum), the common eastern species and the state flower of West Virginia; the mountain rose bay (R. catawbiense) of the southern mountains; and the western rhododendron (R. californicum), the state flower of Washington. The azalea and the rhodora are similar shrubs usually distinguished by their deciduous leaves. Rhododendrons are classified in the division Magnoliophyta, class Magnoliopsida, order Ericales, family Ericaceae.
See F. P. Lee, The Azalea Book (1965); C. L. Phillips, The Rothschild Rhododendrons (1967).
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