''Rhododendron'' sect. ''Pentanthera'' is a section of subgenus ''

Pentanthera ''Rhododendron'' subgenus ''Pentanthera'' was a subgenus of the genus ''Rhododendron''. The common name azalea Azaleas are flowering shrubs in the genus ''Rhododendron'', particularly the former sections '' Tsutsusi'' (evergreen) and '' P ...

'' in the genus ''

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 ...

''. It comprises 15-16 species of

deciduous In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, a ...

shrubs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere. It includes two subsections: * Pentathera * Sinensia

Subsection Pentanthera (16 species)

;Species

Subsection Sinensia (1 species)

;Selected species *'' Rhododendron molle'' (syn. ''R. japonicum'') The section is closely related to sect. ''Rhodora'', differing from it in the

flower A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants (plants of the division Angiospermae). The biological function of a flower is to facilitate reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism ...

corolla Corolla may refer to: *Corolla (botany), the petals of a flower, considered as a unit *Toyota Corolla, an automobile model name * Corolla (headgear), an ancient headdress in the form of a circlet or crown * ''Corolla'' (gastropod), a genus of moll ...

having five fully developed lobes, whereas sect. ''Rhodora'' has the upper three lobes joined into a single three-lipped lobe.

Cultivation

Most (but not all) of the cultivated

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 ...

s belong to species in this section, and hybrids derived from them.

References

Germplasm Resources Information Network: ''Rhododendron'' sect. ''Pentanthera''
*Huxley, A., ed. (1992). ''New RHS Dictionary of Gardening''. Macmillan.

Plant sections Historically recognized angiosperm taxa {{Ericaceae-stub