Spermatophytes (seed plants): Angiosperms (flowering plants): Eudicots: Core Eudicots: Asterids: Ericales
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron minus
FAMILY
Ericaceae
Go to FSUS key
Dig deeper at SERNEC, a consortium of southeastern herbaria.
Read more about Gorge Rhododendron at Vascular Plants of North Carolina.
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron minus
FAMILY
Ericaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN Flora of North America
Rhododendron minus var. minus
INCLUDED WITHIN VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-003:
Rhododendron minus FAMILY Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhododendron minus
COMMON NAME:
Gorge Rhododendron, Punctatum, Piedmont Rhododendron
To see larger pictures, click or hover over the thumbnails.
)
JK Marlow jkm0404c_18
April Haywood County NC
Corneille Bryan Native Garden
)
JK Marlow jkm0405w_06
May Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
People who eat honey made by bees that forage on Rhododendron may become ill, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm200613_5888
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
Corolla tube longer than lobes (vs. tube of R. carolinianum shorter than to as long as lobes), per Weakley's Flora (2023).
)
JK Marlow jkm200613_5891
June Jackson County NC
Foothills Trail
)
Ron Lance rwl_rhodo_minus
June Jackson County NC
Big Ridge Preserve
)
Ron Lance rwl1227_a2
June
Flowers pink to white, often spotted with green, in terminal clusters, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
)
JK Marlow jkm061103_036
November Oconee County SC
Sumter National Forest: Andrew Pickens Ranger District
Somebody tell this plant that it's November.
)
JK Marlow s081221_a
December Oconee County SC
Leathery elliptical leaves sharply pointed at apex, wedge-shaped at base, per Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011).
COMPARE
leaves of Kalmia and Rhododendron species
)
JK Marlow s081221_b
December Oconee County SC
Lower surface of leaves punctate with brown scales, per Weakley's Flora.
COMPARE
leaf undersides of Kalmia and Rhododendron species
WEAKLEY'S FLORA OF THE SOUTHEASTERN US (4/24/22):
Rhododendron minus
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
PLANTS NATIONAL DATABASE:
Rhododendron minus
FAMILY
Ericaceae
INCLUDED WITHIN
Flora of North America
Rhododendron minus var. minus
INCLUDED WITHIN
VASCULAR FLORA OF THE CAROLINAS (Radford, Ahles, & Bell, 1968) 145-05-003:
Rhododendron minus
FAMILY
Ericaceae
SYNONYMOUS WITH
Manual of the Southeastern Flora (Small, 1933, 1938)
Rhododendron minus
1227
Shrub
Perennial
Habitat: Rocky slopes, escarpment gorges, rocky areas in the Piedmont, longleaf pine sandhill bluffs in the Coastal Plain, per Weakley's Flora
Native to the Carolinas & Georgia
Common in Mountains, uncommon in GA & SC Piedmont (rare elsewhere in GA-NC-SC)
CLICK HERE to see a map, notes, and images from Weakley's Flora of the Southeastern US.
LEAVES:
Evergreen
Simple
Alternate
FLOWER:
Winter/Spring/Summer/Fall
Pink/White
Slightly bilaterally symmetrical
5-lobed calyx
5-lobed campanulate to funnelform corolla
10 stamens
Superior ovary
Bisexual
FRUIT:
Summer/Fall
Capsule
TO LEARN MORE about this plant, look it up in a good book!
- Gardening with Native Plants of the South (Wasowski & Wasowski, 1994, 2020) p092
- Great Smoky Mountains Wildflowers (Campbell, Hutson, Sharp, & Hutson, 1962) p106
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 1st ed. (Porcher & Rayner, 2001) p142
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p167
- Guide to the Wildflowers of SC, 2nd ed. (McMillan, Porcher, Rayner, & White; 2022) p187
- How to Recognize Shrubs (Grimm, 1966) p215
- Native Shrubs and Woody Vines of the Southeast (Foote & Jones, 1989) p104
- Native Trees of the Southeast, An Identification Guide (Kirkman, Brown, & Leopold, 2007) p135
- Wild Flowers of NC, 2nd edition (Justice, Bell, & Lindsey, 2005) p175
- Field Guide to the Wildflowers of Georgia (Chafin, 2016) p173
- Wildflowers of Tennessee (Carman, 2005) p102
- Woody Plants of the Blue Ridge (Lance) p27
- Wildflowers & Plant Communities of the Southern Appalachian Mountains and Piedmont (Spira, 2011) p303
- Woody Plants of the Southeastern US: A Winter Guide (Lance, 2004) p288
If a search such as "Carex leptalea var. leptalea" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "Carex leptalea".
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Less is more: If "pencil flower" doesn't deliver the results you want, try "pencil".