''Rhododendron schlippenbachii'', the royal azalea, is a species of ''

Rhododendron ''Rhododendron'' (; : ''rhododendra'') is a very large genus of about 1,024 species of woody plants in the Ericaceae, heath family (Ericaceae). They can be either evergreen or deciduous. Most species are native to eastern Asia and the Himalayan ...

'' native to the

Korean Peninsula Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically divided at or near the 38th parallel between North Korea (Dem ...

and adjacent regions of

Northeast China Northeast China () is a geographical region of China, consisting officially of three provinces Liaoning, Jilin and Heilongjiang. The heartland of the region is the Northeast China Plain, the largest plain in China with an area of over . The regi ...

Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...

, and the

Russian Far East The Russian Far East ( rus, Дальний Восток России, p=ˈdalʲnʲɪj vɐˈstok rɐˈsʲiɪ) is a region in North Asia. It is the easternmost part of Russia and the Asia, Asian continent, and is coextensive with the Far Easte ...

. It is the dominant understory shrub in many Korean hillside forests, growing at altitude.

Description

It is a dense

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 Leaf, leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...

shrub A shrub or bush is a small to medium-sized perennial woody plant. Unlike herbaceous plants, shrubs have persistent woody stems above the ground. Shrubs can be either deciduous or evergreen. They are distinguished from trees by their multiple ...

growing to in height, but more commonly tall. The

leaves A leaf (: leaves) is a principal appendage of the stem of a vascular plant, usually borne laterally above ground and specialized for photosynthesis. Leaves are collectively called foliage, as in "autumn foliage", while the leaves, stem, ...

are obovate, long and broad, with scattered glandular hairs. The

flower Flowers, also known as blooms and blossoms, are the reproductive structures of flowering plants ( angiosperms). Typically, they are structured in four circular levels, called whorls, around the end of a stalk. These whorls include: calyx, m ...

s are white to pink, often with small red spots on the upper three petals; they are produced in late spring to early summer. The scientific name ''schlippenbachii'' is derived from Baron von Schlippenbach, a Russian officer who collected the species in 1854.

Cultivation and symbolism

In Korean language, it is called and if the color of the petals is white, the flower is called . The Royal Azalea is commonly chosen as a local symbol in

South Korea South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the southern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders North Korea along the Korean Demilitarized Zone, with the Yellow Sea to the west and t ...

, by provinces, cities and counties such as Gangwon Province,

Gapyeong Gapyeong County (), alternatively Kapyong County, is a administrative divisions of South Korea, county in Gyeonggi Province, South Korea. It was the scene of the Battle of Kapyong, a major battle of the Korean War. Administrative Region and Lan ...

and

Miryang Miryang () is a Administrative divisions of South Korea, city in South Gyeongsang Province, South Korea. Neighboring cities include Changnyeong to the west, Cheongdo to the north, Ulsan to the east, and Yangsan, Gimhae, and Changwon to the sout ...

. It is widely cultivated in many parts of the world; some

cultivar A cultivar is a kind of Horticulture, cultivated plant that people have selected for desired phenotypic trait, traits and which retains those traits when Plant propagation, propagated. Methods used to propagate cultivars include division, root a ...

s bear white flowers. The fruit is egg-shaped and oval, long, with glandular hair, which ripen in October. Azaleas are poisonous and can not be eaten.

References

Flora of China: ''Rhododendron schlippenbachii''
{{Taxonbar, from=Q843080 schlippenbachii Flora of Northeast Asia Flora of Korea Flora of Japan Flora of China Flora of Russia Taxa named by Karl Maximovich