Rhododendron catawbiense
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 Rhododendron catawbiense growing wild on Mount Mitchell, North Carolina
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| Rhododendron catawbiense Michx. |
Rhododendron catawbiense (Catawba Rhododendron) is a species of Rhododendron native to the eastern United States, growing mainly in the Appalachian Mountains from Virginia south to northern Alabama.
It is a dense, suckering shrub growing to 3 m tall, rarely 5 m. The leaves are evergreen, 6-12 cm long and 2-4 cm broad. The flowers are 3-4.5 cm diameter, violet-purple, often with small spots or streaks. The fruit is a dry capsule 15-20 mm long, containing numerous small seeds.
The species is named after the Catawba tribe of Native Americans.
[edit] Cultivation and uses
It is a popular ornamental plant, both in North America and also in Europe, grown for its spring flower display. Outside of its native range, it is naturalized locally north to Massachusetts.
It is very closely related to (and very difficult to distinguish from) the European species Rhododendron ponticum, and hybridizes readily with it in cultivation; the hybrid is invasive in parts of northeastern Scotland in areas too cold for typical R. ponticum to thrive (Milne & Abbott 2000); the presence of this hybrid was only determined by genetic analysis.
[edit] References
- Germplasm Resources Information Network: Rhododendron catawbiense
- USDA Plants Profile: Rhododendron catawbiense
- Milne, R. I., & Abbott, R. J. (2000). Origin and evolution of invasive naturalized material of Rhododendron ponticum L. in the British Isles. Molecular Ecology 9: 541-556 Abstract.
