Rhododendron

Day 245: No landscaping in Washington is complete without the addition of a Rhododendron. It's our State Flower! The most recognizable native variety resembles those sold commercially in that it makes large clusters of pinkish-white to pink flowers and has the large leaves familiar to gardeners. It is often called Pacific Rhododendron or (ironically) California Rhododendron. Its scientific name, Rhododendron macrophyllum, means "Rhododendron with large leaves" (d'uh!). However, at least four other Rhododendrons occur in the state. R. albiflorum looks like a blueberry bush, and bears its greenish-white flowers singly or in small clusters; R. groenlandicum and R. columbianum are small and shrubby, and carry heads of little white flowers above leathery leaves; R. menziesii is somewhat taller and more woody, and its flowers are bell-shaped like those of huckleberries. None of these four jumps out at the observer to say, "I am a Rhododendron." That distinction lies with our iconic State Flower which can grow up to eighteen feet tall and measure nearly as broad.