''Enkianthus'' is a genus of shrubs or small trees in the heath family (
Ericaceae
The Ericaceae () are a Family (biology), family of flowering plants, commonly known as the heath or heather family, found most commonly in acidic and infertile growing conditions. The family is large, with about 4,250 known species spread acros ...
).
Its native range is in Asia, as far west as the eastern
Himalayas
The Himalayas, or Himalaya ( ), is a mountain range in Asia, separating the plains of the Indian subcontinent from the Tibetan Plateau. The range has some of the Earth's highest peaks, including the highest, Mount Everest. More than list of h ...
, as far south as
Indochina, and as far north and east as China and Japan.
This genus is considered
cladistically the most basal member of the Ericaceae, that is, the descendant of the common ancestor of that Ericaceae that branched earliest from the rest of that family. It is classified as the sole member of the subfamily Enkianthoideae.
Species
Twelve to fifteen species are included in the genus by various authors.
[Sarwar, A. and H. Takahashi (2006)]
Pollen morphology of ''Enkianthus'' (Ericaceae) and its taxonomic significance.
''Grana'' 45 161-74.
Species include:
[''Enkianthus''.]
BioLib.cz.
Cultivation
Several species are found in cultivation, notably ''E. campanulatus'', ''E. cernuus'' and ''E. perulatus''. ''E. cernuus'' f. ''rubens'' (drooping red enkianthus) has gained the Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity.
The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr ...
's Award of Garden Merit
The Award of Garden Merit (AGM) is a long-established award for plants by the British Royal Horticultural Society (RHS). It is based on assessment of the plants' performance under UK growing conditions.
It includes the full range of cultivated p ...
.
References
Ericaceae
Ericaceae genera
{{ericaceae-stub