Rhododendron alabamense Rehder

Alabama Azalea

Shrub

Perennial

Vascular

Alabama Azalea, is a native deciduous woody shrub in the Azalea family (Ericaceae). It can be found throughout most of Alabama in hardwood forests, on slopes, along ridges, and on hill sides. The Alabama Azalea grows in drier woodlands than most of our other native azaleas. It is a large shrub reaching 9-15 feet in height. It often forms large clones from stolons. The bark is smooth and brownish-gray. Young twigs are pubescent with unicellular and multicellular hairs. Leaves are alternate, petiolate, ovate to obovate in outline, with ciliate margins. The leaves are pubescent or glabrous on the upper surface and pubescent on the lower surface. Leaves turn yellow to brown before falling in the autumn. Flowers are produced in terminal inflorescences of 6-7 flowers on short pedicels. Flowers open before or with the unfolding of the new leaves. The flowers are weakly bilaterally symmetrical, funnelform, with 5 spreading lobes. The flowers are pubescent with eglandular and scattered glandular hairs, white or pink-tinged in color with a contrasting yellow blotch on the upper lobe, and very fragrant with a lemon scent. Michael Dirr called it "possibly the most fragrant of the native azaleas". The stamens and stigma are long exserted. The fruit is a pubescent capsule. This species was first recognized as unusual by the early Alabama botanist Charles Mohr. He observed the plant in Cullman County in northeast Alabama, but identified it as a white flowered form of Rhododendron nudiflorum (Linnaeus) Torrey. It was not until 1921 that the new species was described. – A. Diamond

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Native

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