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].

Related categories for Species: Rhododendron maximum | Rosebay