AZALEA, in Botany, is the name of a genus belonging to the natural order Ericacerr, and consisting of shrubs remarkable for the beauty and fragrance of their flowers; on which account they are very generally cultivated in Europe. By some botanists the genus is esteemed the same as Rhododendron, in which it is accordingly stink ; and it must be confessed that it is difficult to point out any positive character except the thin and generally deciduous leaves by which Azalea can be distinguished front Rhododendron, The forms of may be reduced to four principal heads, to one or other of which all the species are referrible—namely, 1, those with glutinous flowers and short stamens ; 2, those with glutinous flowers and stamens much longer than the corolla ; 3, those with flowers that are scarcely at all glutinous, and stamens much longer than the corolla; and 4, those with flowers that are scarcely at all glutinous, and short stamens.
Section 1.—Flowers covered with numerous glutinous hairs. Stamens little or not at all longer than the tube of the corolla.
1. Azalea viscosa, Linn. (A. odorata, vittata, Pm, lucida of various authors). Leaves shining, green on both sides, fringed at the edge. A native of swamps, copses, and wet and shady woods, throughout the United States of North America, from Canada to Georgia. It is a shrub from 3 to 8 feet high, with the young branches covered with numerous stiffish brown hairs. The leaves are bright green, shining, and smooth on the upper side ; paler but not at all glaucous on the under side. The flowers are deliciously fragrant, usually white or nearly so, with a long narrow tube, and a contracted limb with narrow sharp-pointed divisions ; they are covered all over externally with glutinous brownish purple glands. The stamens are not so long as the segments of the corolla, but longer than its tube. It is one of the most common species and the most fragrant 2. Azalea glauca, Lamarck. Leaves dull green, somewhat wrinkled and wavy at the edge, glaucous on the under side, fringed at the edge. Found in clayey swamps in the middle states of North America, where it flowers rather earlier than the last. In a wild state it is a much rarer plant, and does not grow so tall ; its white flowers appear in the utmost profusion, and are very like those of A. viscosa, but the stamens
are a little longer. In the nurseries it is called A. viscose floribunda.
Section covered with numerous glutinous hairs. Stamens much longer than the corolla.
3. Azalea nitida, Pursh. Branches with very few hairs. Leaves small, rather leathery, shining, and smooth on both sides. Found in deep mossy swamps on the mountains of North America, from the state of New York to Virginia, flowering in June and July. The leaves of this plant, which appear a little earlier than the flowers, are dark green, shining, and smaller than in any other species : the only parts which are hairy are the midrib and the margin. The flowers are white, with a red tinge, and glutinous ; their tube is a little longer than the segments ;* the calyx is very short ; the stamens are longer than the corolla. It is doubtful whether this is to be met with in cultivation.
4. Azalea hispida, Pursh. Branches clothed with numerous stiffish hairs. Leaves long-lanceolate, covered with bloom on both sides, hairy on the upper surface, and smooth on the lower. A native of the borders of lakes; and on the highest part of the Blue Ridge in the state of Pennsylvania, flowering in July and August. An upright shrub, growing 10 or 15 feet high, with a bluish aspect, by which it may be recognised at a distance.
5. Azalea pontica, Linn. Leaves large, not shining, puckered, reflexed and wavy at the edge, green and slightly hairy on both sur faces. Flowers yellow, long-stalked, covered with long hairs and glutinous glands. Common in the Crimea, the Caucasus, and the eastern parts of Poland, rendering the whole country a brilliant garden with its golden fragrant flowers during the month of May. Although found on the mountains, it is by no means an alpine plant, but dis appears in the higher regions of the air, where the Pontic Rhododendron takes its place. Its flowers abound In a fluid nectar, which is said to render poisonous the honey collected by the bees at the time of its blooming. It is readily known by its large yellow corolla from all the American species : in the gardens it deviates to a pale straw colour, which is called white by collectors.