Biology:Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera

Short description: Section of rhododendrons

Pentanthera
Rhododendron luteum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Rhododendron
Subgenus:	Pentanthera
Section:	Pentanthera G.Don
Type species
Rhododendron luteum
Species
See text

Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera is a section of subgenus Pentanthera in the genus Rhododendron. It comprises 15-16 species of deciduous shrubs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

It includes two subsections:

• Pentathera
• Sinensia

Subsection Pentanthera (16 species)

Species

Image	Name	Distribution
	Rhododendron alabamense Alfred Rehder, 1921 (Alabama azalea)	United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Mississippi, North Carolina, South Carolina, Tennessee)
	Rhododendron arborescens John Torrey, 1824	United States (West Virginia, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, North Carolina, Georgia and Alabama.)
	Rhododendron atlanticum Alfred Rehder, 1921	United States (New Jersey south to Georgia.)
	Rhododendron austrinum (Small) Rehder 1917	United States (Alabama, Florida, Georgia, and Mississippi)
	Rhododendron calendulaceum John Torrey, 1824	United States (southern Pennsylvania and Ohio to northern Georgia.)
	Rhododendron canescens (Michx.) Sweet 1889	United States(Alabama, Arkansas, Delaware, Florida, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maryland, Mississippi, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Virginia )
	Rhododendron colemanii Ronald F. Miller, 2008	United States(Alabama and western Georgia)
	Rhododendron cumberlandense Emma Lucy Braun, 1941	United States (Kentucky, Tennessee, Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina.)
	Rhododendron eastmanii Kathleen Anne Kron, 1999	United States (South Carolina)
	Rhododendron flammeum (Michx.) Sarg. 1917	United States(Georgia and South Carolina)
	Rhododendron luteum Sweet 1911 (yellow azalea, honeysuckle azalea)	southern Russia; and in Asia
	Rhododendron occidentale Torr. & A.Gray 1876	United States(Oregon, California)
	Rhododendron periclymenoides (Michx.) Shinners 1962 (pink azalea, pinxterbloom azalea, pinxter flower)	United States(southern New York south to Georgia)
	Rhododendron prinophyllum (Small) Millais 1917 (rose azalea, roseshell azalea)	Eastern United States
	Rhododendron prunifolium (Small) Millais 1917	United States( Georgia, Alabama )
	Rhododendron viscosum (L.) Torr. 1824 (Swamp azalea)	Eastern United States

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 corolla 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 azaleas 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.

Wikidata ☰ Q13441572 entry