Flora of New Zealand Series

rhododendron

Large evergreen shrub to c. 6 m high. Lvs glabrous; petiole to c. 1.5 cm long, slightly grooved above. Lamina 7-12 × 1.5-4 cm (lvs of young plants often much larger), narrow-elliptic or elliptic-obovate, coriaceous, entire, dark shining green above. Racemes short with usually < 20 fls. Bracts large, scarious, often villous on both sides, glandular-denticulate, caducous. Pedicels 2-2.5 cm long, with very short glandular hairs. Calyx 1.5-5 mm long, irregularly and deeply lobed; margin glandular-ciliolate. Corolla 3.5-4 cm long, campanulate, purple to violet, spotted brown inside on upper lobes; lobes ?-3/4 length of tube, imbricate, undulate, rounded at apex. Stamens 10; filaments 2.5-4 cm long, unequal, hairy in lower 1/2. Style > stamens, glabrous. Ovary glabrous or slightly hairy. Capsule 10-18 mm long, oblong.

N.: Opotiki District and Waihi (Bay of Plenty); S.: well established on Butt's Hill (near Reefton, West Coast), S. Westland.

S.E. Europe, Asia Minor 1958

Scrub and shady woodlands, old shrubberies and plantations near gardens.

FL Oct-Dec.

R. ponticum was probably the first rhododendron to be introduced to N.Z. and it has been planted extensively. Large thickets persist in many areas and plants sometimes occur spontaneously from seed in the vicinity of established plants. All specimens from wild plants seen correspond to subsp. ponticum but in cultivation there is more variation than in the wild plants. A number of hybrids are also grown.