Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron maximum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
You may also want to check Trees, Shrubs, and Woody Vines of North Carolina
Read more about Rosebay Rhododendron at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron maximum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhododendron maximum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-001:
Rhododendron maximum FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhododendron maximum
COMMON NAME:
Rosebay Rhododendron, Great Laurel, White Rosebay, Great Rhododendron
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
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Manual of the Trees of North America (Exclusive of Mexico) (Sargent, 1905) mtna_i_825
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / Britton, N.L., and A. Brown. 1913 pnd_rhma4_001_lvd
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USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database / US Forest Service pnd_rhma4_007_lvd
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JK Marlow s050319_b
March Greenville County SC
Jones Gap State Park
Leaf blades leathery, oblong, 4-12" long, bases tapered, tips pointed, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
COMPARE
leaves of Kalmia and Rhododendron species
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JK Marlow jkm0104a_31
April Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Flower buds terminal, 1-1.5" long, with many overlapping sticky scales, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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JK Marlow jkm210423_9686
April Jackson County NC
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JK Marlow jkm210423_9749
April Transylvania County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
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JK Marlow jkm0505h_20
May Swain County NC
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
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JK Marlow jkm070526_010
May Polk County NC
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JK Marlow jkm220605_8265
June Greenville County SC
Chandler Heritage Preserve
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JK Marlow jkm0107g_01
July Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Corolla often has a greenish throat with yellow or orange spots, per Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989).
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JK Marlow jkm060712_009
July Raleigh County WV
Grandview State Park
White to pale pink flowers with greenish to yellow-orange spotted throats, per Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002).
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JK Marlow jkm190719_0001
July Transylvania County NC
Pisgah National Forest: Pisgah Ranger District
Fruit just beginning to develop. Calyx lobes slightly unequal, 4-5mm, obtuse, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_r_maximum_4
July Union County GA
Lake Winfield Scott
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Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_r_maximum_s
July
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Ben Geer Keys bgk1226_a
July?
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JK Marlow jkm0509b_34
September Transylvania County NC
DuPont State Forest
Fruit an elongate, sticky capsule, crowned with the remnants of the style, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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JK Marlow jkm150927_243
September Henderson County NC
Bearwallow Mountain
Terminal bud's lowermost bud scales are elongate, leaflike, per Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004).
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JK Marlow jkm0311b_27
November Sevier County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
A thicket-forming shrub or small tree, per Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007).
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JK Marlow jkm0311f_13
November Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
The lower the temperature, the greater the angle of the drooping leaves, per Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001).
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JK Marlow jkm0311f_18
November Rutherford County NC
Chimney Rock Park
Largely Appalachian: ME, NY & OH south to GA & AL, primarily in the mountains, per Weakley's Flora.
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JK Marlow jkm201107_8118
November Greenville County SC
Ashmore Heritage Preserve
See the cool dark gray-green band of color? Rhodos line the creek up ahead.
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron maximum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron maximum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Rhododendron maximum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-001:
Rhododendron maximum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhododendron maximum
1226
Shrub; Tree
Perennial
Habitat: Moist slopes, wet flats, bogs, swamps, north-facing bluffs in the Piedmont, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, uncommon in Piedmont
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:
Summer
Pink/Whitish
Bisexual
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed campanulate corolla
10 included stamens
Superior ovary
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Forest Plants of the Southeast and Their Wildlife Uses (Miller & Miller, 2005) p374
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p077
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p314
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p108
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p160
- Landscaping with Native Trees (Sternberg & Wilson, 1995) p256
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p103
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p139
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p292
- Trees of the Southeastern United States (Duncan & Duncan, 1988) p220
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p174
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p172
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p102
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p27
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p302
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p288