Pink Azaleas
Pink Azalea
Pink Azalea Close-up
Azaleas make up two subgenera of Rhododendrons (evergreen & deciduous). Since I didn’t photograph other parts of this flower and there are so many hybrids, I’m having difficulty identifying the flower beyond the general Azalea tag. Raulston Arboretum in Raleigh, NC.
While bugs are getting easier for me to identify – flowers and plants are becoming increasingly frustrating. I don’t have enough knowledge to help me navigate the identification resources available. I need more images! A very easy visual encyclopedia to plants, per se.
Azaleas and Rhododendrons differ in a few key ways that may help to identify them. Generally Azaleas have bigger flowers. They also tend to bloom singularly at the end of stems, rather than in huge clusters like Rhododendrons do. Most Azaleas bloom for a couple months in early spring where Rhododendrons continue to put out blooms over the season. Generally they are easy to grow and human fascination has led to thousands of showy hybrids. For their easy-going growing, Azaleas and Rhododendrons are widely distributed all over the Northern Hemisphere except for in arid climates.
The reason why I was photographing these flowers were because of the incredibly visible sticky clumps of pollen on the anthers.
Azalea tidbits
- Many cities in the US celebrate Azaleas in one way or another – including Wilmington, NC just an hour and a half away from where these were photographed
- In Korea a traditional alcoholic beverage is made from Azaleas
- Azaleas can be extremely toxic to horses and it is thought to be toxic for dogs as well
- Rhododendrons and perhaps some species of Azalea also have toxic effect on humans if they ingest honey made from Azalea flowers; the effects have been described as both hallucinogenic and as having a laxative affect. Now that’s a fun night!
