365Caws is now in its 14th year of publication, and was originally intended to end after 365 days. It has sometimes been difficult for me to find new material, particularly during the winter months, but now as I enter my own twilight years, I cannot guarantee that I will be able to provide daily posts. It is my hope that along the way I may have inspired someone to a greater curiosity about the natural world. If so, I can rest, content in the knowledge that my work here has been done.
Friday, June 14, 2024
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment