''Rhododendron indicum'' is an

Azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' Pentanthera'' (deciduous). Azaleas bloom in the spring (April and May in the temperate Northern Hemisphere, and Oct ...

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; from Ancient Greek ''rhódon'' "rose" and ''déndron'' "tree") is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are nativ ...

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of ...

native to Japan (S & W

Honshu , historically called , is the largest and most populous island of Japan. It is located south of Hokkaidō across the Tsugaru Strait, north of Shikoku across the Inland Sea, and northeast of Kyūshū across the Kanmon Straits. The island ...

Shikoku is the smallest of the four main islands of Japan. It is long and between wide. It has a population of 3.8 million (, 3.1%). It is south of Honshu and northeast of Kyushu. Shikoku's ancient names include ''Iyo-no-futana-shima'' (), ...

Kyushu is the third-largest island of Japan's five main islands and the most southerly of the four largest islands ( i.e. excluding Okinawa). In the past, it has been known as , and . The historical regional name referred to Kyushu and its surroun ...

Yakushima is one of the Ōsumi Islands in Kagoshima Prefecture, Japan. The island, in area, has a population of 13,178. Access to the island is by hydrofoil ferry (7 or 8 times a day from Kagoshima, depending on the season), slow car ferry (once or tw ...

Taxonomy

It is the

type species In zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the species that contains the biological type specimen( ...

for the ''Tsutsusi'' section and subsection, and was the original ''Tsutsusi'' described by

Engelbert Kaempfer Engelbert Kaempfer (16 September 16512 November 1716) was a German naturalist, physician, explorer and writer known for his tour of Russia, Persia, India, Southeast Asia, and Japan between 1683 and 1693. He wrote two books about his travels. '' ...

in Japan in 1712, from the Japanese name ''Kirishima-tsutsuji''.

Cultivation

There are many cultivars, including the Satsuki azaleas.

Gallery

File:Kibitujinja5164.JPG, Close up of flower File:CPonte_Azalea1.jpg, Bonsai File:Rhododendron_indicum_satuki01.jpg, Natural habitat File:Rhododendron_indicum2.jpg, Hedge

References

Bibliography

The Linnaean Plant Name Typification Project: Azalea indica L.

Steve Cafferty and Charles E. Jarvis. Typification of Linnaean Plant Names in Ericaceae. Taxon Vol. 51, No. 4 (Nov., 2002), pp. 751-753

External links

Hirsutum.com
indicum Flora of Japan Plants described in 1753 Taxa named by Carl Linnaeus {{Ericaceae-stub