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Wildlife, Animals, and Plants
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Introductory
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
ABBREVIATION :
RHOMAX
SYNONYMS :
NO-ENTRY
SCS PLANT CODE :
RHMA4
COMMON NAMES :
rosebay
rosebay rhododendron
great-laurel
great-rhododendron
white-rhododendron
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for rosebay is Rhododendron
maximum L. [14]. There are no recognized subspecies, varieties, or
forms.
LIFE FORM :
Tree
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
NO-ENTRY
COMPILED BY AND DATE :
Milo Coladonato, November 1991
LAST REVISED BY AND DATE :
NO-ENTRY
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladoanto, Milo 1991. Rhododendron maximum. In: Remainder of Citation
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Rosebay grows mostly in the mountainous regions of eastern United States
from western Maine to Georgia. Outlying populations can be found in the
mountains of eastern Kentucky, eastern Tennessee, and Ohio [2,29].
ECOSYSTEMS :
FRES10 White - red - jack pine
FRES11 Spruce - fir
FRES12 Longleaf - slash pine
FRES13 Loblolly - shortleaf pine
FRES14 Oak - pine
FRES15 Oak - hickory
STATES :
AL CT GA KY MA MD ME NC NH NJ
NY OH PA SC TN VA VT WV
ADMINISTRATIVE UNITS :
ALPO BISO BLRI CATO CUGA DEWA
GRSM JOFL NERI OBRI SHEN
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
NO-ENTRY
KUCHLER PLANT ASSOCIATIONS :
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K096 Northeastern spruce - fir forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K100 Oak - hickory forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K108 Northern hardwoods - spruce forest
K110 Northeastern oak - pine forest
K111 Oak - hickory - pine forest
K112 Southern mixed forest
K113 Southern floodplain forest
SAF COVER TYPES :
21 Eastern white pine
22 White pine - hemlock
23 Eastern hemlock
24 Hemlock - yellow birch
40 Post oak - blackjack oak
43 Bear oak
44 Chestnut oak
45 Pitch pine
46 Eastern redcedar
51 White pine - chestnut oak
52 White oak - black oak - northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
57 Yellow-poplar
58 Yellow-poplar - eastern hemlock
59 Yellow poplar - white oak - northern red oak
70 Longleaf pine
75 Shortleaf pine
76 Shortleaf pine - oak
78 Virginia pine - oak
79 Virginia pine
80 Loblolly pine - shortleaf pine
81 Loblolly pine
82 Loblolly pine - hardwood
83 Longleaf pine - slash pine
97 Atlantic white-cedar
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES :
NO-ENTRY
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
NO-ENTRY
VALUE AND USE
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
WOOD PRODUCTS VALUE :
Rosebay wood is occasionally used to make small craft items and as fuel
for wood stoves [19].
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE :
Deer occasionally browse rosebay leaves and twigs, but it is not a major
part of their diet [28]. In a Greenwhich, Connecticut study, only 17
seventeen percent of rosebay shoots examined showed moderate leaf or
twig damage from browsing [3].
PALATABILITY :
NO-ENTRY
NUTRITIONAL VALUE :
Although nutrient concentrations of rosebay leaves are generally lower
than those of deciduous trees, leaf longevity allows significant storage
of nutrients. Fresh leaf litter has lower concentrations of nitrogen,
potassium, and phosphorus than do harvested leaves, indicating a
resorption of these nutrients before leaf fall. The nutrient
concentration (% dry weight) of leaves changes with age [17]:
Leaf Age Nitrogen Phosphorus Potassium Calcium Magnesium
1 mo 1.60 0.17 1.34 0.36 0.17
6 mo 1.05 0.16 0.87 1.00 0.29
2 yr 0.93 0.13 0.41 1.20 0.20
3 yr 0.86 0.12 0.35 1.30 0.21
4 yr 0.88 0.12 0.34 1.40 0.16
COVER VALUE :
Rosebay provides cover for the sharp-tailed grouse, white-tailed deer,
and a variety of other birds and mammals [20,28].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES :
Rosebay is useful in providing watershed protection and erosion control
on steep slopes.
OTHER USES AND VALUES :
Rosebay is cultivated for its beautiful flowers [20].
MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Rosebay presents timber management problems throughout the Appalachian
Mountains [30]. Rosebay regenerates vigorously through stump sprouting,
root suckers, or from layered stems after it is cut, burned, or
otherwise disturbed [30]. As it grows, it forms dense thickets that
cast so much shade over the forest floor that tree species cannot
reproduce, and eventually the site becomes unable to support commercial
timber production [24]. Rosebay is best controlled through chemical
treatment. Basal spraying and mist blower applications of 2,4,5-T have
been reported to kill 100 percent of new sprouts [18,24].
BOTANICAL AND ECOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS :
Rosebay is a spreading, thicket-forming, evergreen shrub or small tree,
3 to 15 feet (1-5 m) tall [6]. The flowers are large, round clusters;
the fruit is a capsule containing many seeds. The bark is thin.
[2,8,21].
Rosebay exhibits an interesting adaptation to climatic change. During
periods of cold weather, the leaves roll lengthwise. The lower the
temperature, the tighter the roll gets, until the leaves become slender
hollow cylinders [13,19].
RAUNKIAER LIFE FORM :
Microphanerophyte
Nanophanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES :
Seed and Seedlings: Rosebay does not produce large seed crops, and
seeds do not remain viable past the first growing season. Seedlings are
limited to open sites where there is a moist seedbed and little shade
covering. In closed thickets, rosebay reproduces vegetatively [21,24].
Flowering: The flowering potential of rosebay is extremely limited.
Flowering and fertilization reaches it greatest capacity when the shrub
is 2 years old. Rosebay stops producing flowers after the fifth growing
season [4,16].
Vegetative: Rosebay reproduces almost exclusively by stump sprouting,
root suckers, or layering [30].
SITE CHARACTERISTICS :
Rosebay occurs mostly at elevations below 3,300 feet (1,000 m) but in
the southern Appalachians occasionally occurs at elevations over 5,900
feet (1,800 m). Rosebay flourishes on well-drained acidic soils in cool
moist locations. It grows on shaded mountain sides, in ravines, and
along bottoms [5,6,28]. Some trees commonly associated with rosebay are
pitch pine (Pinus rigida), white pine (P. strobus), table mountain pine
(P. pungens), numerous oaks (Quercus spp.), and hickories (Carya spp.).
Some understory associates include mountain-laurel (Kalmia latifolia),
blueberry (Vaccinium vacillans), black huckleberry (Gaylussacia bacata),
wild grape (Vitis spp.), greenbrier (Smilax rotundifolia), fetterbush
(Pieris floribunda), and white-alder (Clethra acuminata) [1,5,12].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS :
Rosebay is very shade tolerant and survives even in the deep shade of
closed canopies [30]; however, new thicket formation is generally
restricted to openings created by logging, fire, or other types of
disturbance [21,2].
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT :
Rosebay flowers open during a period of several weeks from May to July.
The fruit ripens in September through October; seed dispersal occurs
from October to November [20].
FIRE ECOLOGY
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Rosebay is well adapted to fire. It typically survives by sprouting
from the root crown or stump [10,23].
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY :
survivor species; on-site surviving root crown or caudex
FIRE EFFECTS
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT :
Fire usually kills aboveground stems smaller than 1.5 inches (4 cm)
d.b.h. Larger stems often survive fire [21,24].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT :
NO-ENTRY
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE :
Rosebay typically sprouts vigorously after the aboveground portions are
killed by fire. A fall prescribed burn in North Carolina top-killed 70
percent of rosebay less than 1 inch (2.5 cm) d.b.h., but 17 months after
the burn, nearly all the top-killed rosebay had resprouted [10].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE :
NO-ENTRY
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS :
Rosebay is susceptible to annual burning. Annual intense burning for
extended periods has eliminated rosebay populations on many sites in the
Appalachians [10,24].
REFERENCES
SPECIES: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay
REFERENCES :
1. Cain, Stanley A. 1931. Ecological studies of the vegetation of the Great
Smoky Mountains of North Carolina and Tennessee. Botanical Gazette. 91:
22-41. [10340]
2. Chapman, William K.; Bessette, Alan E. 1990. Trees and shrubs of the
Adirondacks. Utica, NY: North Country Books, Inc. 131 p. [12766]
3. Conover, M. R.; Kania, G. S. 1988. Browsing preference of white-tailed
deer for different ornamental species. Wildlife Society Bulletin. 16:
175-179. [8933]
4. Cooper, S. D.; McGraw, J. B. 1988. Constraints on reproductive potential
at the level of the shoot module in three ericaceous shrubs. Functional
Ecology. 2: 97-108. [9039]
5. Della-Bianca, Lino. 1990. Pinus pungens Lamb. table mountain pine. In:
Burns, Russell M.; Honkala, Barbara H., technical coordinators. Silvics
of North America. Volume 1. Conifers. Agric. Handb. 654. Washington, DC:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service: 425-432. [13400]
6. Duncan, Wilbur H.; Duncan, Marion B. 1988. Trees of the southeastern
United States. Athens, GA: The University of Georgia Press. 322 p.
[12764]
7. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
8. Fernald, Merritt Lyndon. 1950. Gray's manual of botany. [Corrections
supplied by R. C. Rollins]. Portland, OR: Dioscorides Press. 1632 p.
(Dudley, Theodore R., gen. ed.; Biosystematics, Floristic & Phylogeny
Series; vol. 2). [14935]
9. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
10. Hooper, Ralph M. 1969. Prescribed burning for laurel and rhododendron
control in the southern Appalachians. Res. Note SE-116. Asheville, NC:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest
Experiment Station. 6 p. [10699]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Laderman, Aimlee D.; Golet, Francis C.; Sorrie, Bruce A.; Woolsey, Henry
L. 1987. Atlantic white cedar in the glaciated Northeast. In: Laderman,
Aimlee D., ed. Atlantic white cedar wetlands. [Place of publication
unknown]: Westview Press: 19-34. [15872]
13. Leach, David G. 1963. Rhododendrons of the world and how to grow them.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 544 p. [10688]
14. Little, Elbert L., Jr. 1979. Checklist of United States trees (native
and naturalized). Agric. Handb. 541. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 375 p. [2952]
15. Lyon, L. Jack; Stickney, Peter F. 1976. Early vegetal succession
following large northern Rocky Mountain wildfires. In: Proceedings, Tall
Timbers fire ecology conference and Intermountain Fire Research Council
fire and land management symposium; 1974 October 8-10; Missoula, MT. No.
14. Tallahassee, FL: Tall Timbers Research Station: 355-373. [1496]
16. McGraw, James B. 1989. Effects of age and size on life histories and
population growth of Rhododendron maximum shoots. American Journal of
Botany. 76(1): 113-123. [13488]
17. Monk, Carl D.; McGinty, Douglas T.; Day, Frank P., Jr. 1985. The
ecological importance of Kalmia latifolia and Rhododendron maximum in
the deciduous forest of the southern Appalachians. Bulletin of the
Torrey Botanical Club. 112(2): 187-193. [16504]
18. Neary, D. G.; Douglass, J. E.; Ruehle, J. L.; Fox, W. 1984. Converting
rhododendron-laurel thickets to white pine with picloram and
mycorrhizae-inoculated seedlings. Southern Journal of Applied Forestry.
8(3): 163-168. [10697]
19. Nilsen, E. T. 1987. Influence of water relations and temperature on leaf
movements of Rhododendron species. Plant Physiology. 83: 607-612.
[10395]
20. Olson, David F., Jr. 1974. Rhododendron L. rhododendron. In:
Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States.
Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service: 709-712. [7739]
21. Plocher, Allen E.; Carvell, Kenneth L. 1987. Population dynamics of
rosebay rhododendron thickets in the southern Appalachians. Bulletin of
the Torrey Botanical Club. 114(2): 121-126. [16505]
22. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
23. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
24. Romancier, Robert M. 1971. Combining fire and chemicals for the control
of rhododondron thickets. Res. Note SE-149. Asheville, NC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest and Range
Experiment Station. 7 p. [10698]
25. Runkle, James Reade. 1982. Patterns of disturbance in some old-growth
mesic forests of eastern North American. Ecology. 63(5): 1533-1546.
[9261]
26. Sluder, Earl R. 1958. Control of cull trees and weed species in hardwood
stands. Station Paper 95. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station. 13 p. [16503]
27. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
28. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States,
their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]
29. Whittaker, R. H. 1956. Vegetation of the Great Smoky Mountains.
Ecological Monographs. 26(1): 1-79. [11108]
30. Yawney, Harry W. 1932. Control of rhododendron by basal spray. Res. Note
No. 132. Upper Darby, PA: U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest
Service, Northeast Forest Experiment Station. 7 p. [16502]
Index
Related categories for Species: Rhododendron maximum
| Rosebay
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