About
The Rhododendron
Scientific classification:
Kingdom : Plantae
Division : Magnoliophyta
Class : Magnoliopsida
Order : Ericales
Family : Ericaceae
Genus: Rhododendron
This name comes from Greek Rhodos "rose" and dendron "tree"
The Rhododendron is a genus of flowering plants in the family Ericaceae and has over 600 species. These may be evergreen or deciduous, and most have showy flowers. Some of the best known species are noted for their many clusters of large trumpet-shaped blooms and their glossy oval leaves. There are however alpine species with small flowers or with small leaves. Some species have leaves covered with scales or indumentum.
Rhododendron is a widely distributed genus, but a major concentration of diversity occurs in the Sino-Himalyan mountains of southeast Asia from central Nepal and Sikkim to Yunnan and Sichuan, with other significant areas of diversity in the mountains of Indo-China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan. Several species occur in North America and a few in Europe. In addition, there are a significant number of tropical Rhododendron species - with 55 known species in Borneo and 164 in New Guinea.
The Rhododendron is the national flower of Nepal. It is also the state flower of the US states of Washington and West Virginia, and the state of Sikkim in India.