Content
Azalea and rhododendron are unique plants, well known to every person who is interested in floriculture. But even anyone inexperienced in flowers will not be able to calmly pass by these plants in bloom, they are so captivating with their beauty. The difference between azalea and rhododendron has been causing heated debate for many years, both among scientists and among ordinary flower growers. But although the official scientific world has come to some agreement, according to tradition, these plants continue to be called as it was customary about 100 years ago.
What is the difference between azalea and rhododendron
Both of these plants belong to the large heather family, which previously had two different places for them: the genus Rhododendron and the genus Azalea. The seemingly complex name of the main genus consists of two Greek words: rose (rhodon) and tree (dendron). And in translation it means rose tree.
Only in 1583 this name was first assigned to only one specific species - p. rusty, which was discovered in the Alps. Later, Carl Linnaeus, creating his famous classification of plants, indicated 9 species of rhododendrons.Among them were 3 evergreen and 6 deciduous. And he decided to classify deciduous species as a separate genus - azalea. However, azaleas have also been known since ancient times, the only difference being that their historical homeland is India, Japan and China. They do not grow in the wild in Europe.
Later, botanists found out that Carl Linnaeus was mistaken, and the plants he divided into different genera have much more similarities than differences. Therefore, in modern plant taxonomy, the genus Azalea was completely abolished, and all modern species were assigned to the genus Rhododendron. At the moment, this genus already includes about 1,300 species and more than 30,000 plant varieties. Among them are:
- deciduous;
- semi-evergreen;
- evergreen trees, shrubs and shrubs.
However, traditions in floriculture are very strong, and flowers that were called azaleas for many years have retained the right to be called that way. They were simply classified as belonging to the rhododendron genus.
To date, the following species and their numerous varieties are called azaleas:
- R. western (occidentale);
- R. sticky (R. viscosum);
- R. Sims (R.s imsii);
- hybrid group of Nap Hill varieties;
- evergreen hybrids of R. obtuse (Japanese azaleas).
The first two species and their varieties belong to the deciduous type, and the rest to the evergreen type.
And therefore, various misconceptions still exist among gardeners. For example, it is believed that azaleas are deciduous rhododendrons, and there cannot be evergreen species among them.
In fact, the difference between these plants is quite arbitrary and lies in several things.
It is generally accepted that rhododendrons are exclusively garden plants that can withstand significant frosts down to -20-30 °C. While azaleas are heat-loving sissies and can grow mainly in rooms and greenhouses. This is not surprising, given their southern origin, especially Indian azaleas.
In addition, as a rule, these plants vary greatly in size. Most varieties belong to the woody type and are large in size, up to 2-3 m in height. Even shrub varieties look quite voluminous, both in width and in height, reaching one meter. While most azaleas belong to the shrub type and have very small sizes from 30 to 60 cm in height.
Otherwise, from a biological point of view, the difference between these species is quite small: they have the same structure of the root system, as well as stems and leaves, and similar requirements for habitat conditions.
How to distinguish an azalea from a rhododendron
The most important difference between azalea and rhododendron from a botanical point of view is the number of stamens in their flowers. In azaleas, the number of stamens usually coincides with the number of petals and does not exceed five. Rhododendrons most often have two stamens per petal, and thus most varieties have 10 or more. True, there are exceptions to this rule - two species have only seven stamens per flower. But in any case, this is more than azaleas.
Otherwise, it is almost impossible for a non-specialist botanist to distinguish an azalea from a rhododendron.
What is the difference between wild rosemary and rhododendron
There are other plants that also sometimes cause confusion in the minds of ignorant people. For example, for some reason it happened historically that one of the varieties of wild rhododendron called Daurian, found everywhere in the vastness of Eastern Siberia and the Far East, is called wild rosemary.
Of course, wild rosemary also belongs to the same heather family and is an evergreen plant, but no other similarities have been noted.
Moreover, the difference between these two plants is so significant that it is quite easy even for a non-specialist to distinguish them from each other.
- Ledum prefers to grow on moist, swampy soils; it is not for nothing that people often call it swamp stupor, and translated from Old Russian its name means “growing in a swamp swamp.” Daurian rhododendron is a completely drought-resistant plant.
- Ledum, at least because of its name, has a strong but intoxicating odor that can cause a headache. Dahurian rhododendron has a pleasant aroma, slightly reminiscent of strawberries.
- Finally, the flowers of true wild rosemary are always white, while Dahurian rhododendron has lilac-pink flowers.
Nevertheless, despite the great difference in appearance, Daurian rhododendron is so often called wild rosemary among the people that this fact is even reflected in Ozhegov’s explanatory dictionary.
Conclusion
The difference between azalea and rhododendron is actually so insignificant that in the modern world these flowers are quite rightly classified as one botanical genus.However, the traditional approach is also convenient, since it allows you to classify them into different areas of use and cultivation: rhododendrons as garden forms, and azaleas as greenhouse-indoor forms.
