Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron calendulaceum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
William Bartram described Flame Azalea thus: "... We were alarmed with apprehension of the hill being set on fire. This is certainly the most gay and brilliant flowering shrub yet known."
Read more about Flame Azalea at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
R. calendulaceum is a member of what the Azalea Society of America refers to as "the orange-to-red group". Read more here.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron calendulaceum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Flora of North America
Rhododendron calendulaceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-005:
Rhododendron calendulaceum FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Azalea calendulacea
COMMON NAME:
Flame Azalea
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm150424_700
April Blount County TN
Great Smoky Mountains National Park
)
JK Marlow jkm070518_004
May Watauga County NC
)
Richard and Teresa Ware rtw_r_calendulaceum_f
May
)
Bill Sharpton gws1220_a
June
[Pollinator at work] Stamens almost twice as long as the corolla, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm140607_608
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5706
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
"We were alarmed with apprehension of the hill being set on fire. This is ...
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5709
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
certainly the most gay and brilliant flowering shrub yet known" -William Bartram
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5728
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5728b
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Flower tubes are glandular, in contrast to the 3 other orange-red azaleas, per American Azaleas (Towe, 2004).
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5748
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Caught this one in the "chickenfoot" stage. (The glandular hairs are sticky!)
)
JK Marlow jkm200606_5755
June Haywood County NC
Blue Ridge Parkway
Leaves oblanceolate to elliptic, acute and mucronate, base cuneate, per Vascular Flora of the Carolinas (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968).
)
JK Marlow jkm230609_3925
June Jackson County NC
Whiteside Mountain
)
Ron Lance rwl_rhodo_calendulaceum
June Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron calendulaceum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron calendulaceum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Flora of North America
Rhododendron calendulaceum
SYNONYMOUS WITH
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-005:
Rhododendron calendulaceum
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Azalea calendulacea
1220
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Deciduous forests, particularly on mountain slopes, grassy balds, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, rare in Piedmont
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Deciduous
Simple
Alternate
Margins finely serrulate-ciliate
FLOWER:
Spring/Summer
Orange/Yellow/Red
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed funnelform corolla
5(6) stamens, almost twice as long as corolla
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- American Azaleas (Towe, 2004) p031
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p084
- Gardening with the Native Plants of Tennessee (Hunter, 2002) p254
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p086
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p143
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p168
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p216
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p105
- Newcomb's Wildflower Guide (Newcomb, 1977) p300
- Field Guide to the Rare Plants of Georgia (Chafin, 2007) p297
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p176
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p171
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p101
- Wildflowers of Tennessee, the Ohio Valley, and the Southern Appalachians (Horn, Cathcart, Hemmerly, & Duhl, 2005) p129
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p28
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p301
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p290
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
Or, to minimize chances of a misspelling, try just "Carex le".
Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".