A roundup of low- and mid-elevation rhododendron varieties - see which one you've been admiring

 

Once I saw on a website that Taiwan, China has several dozen kinds of rhododendrons, and my reaction at the time was utter astonishment! I had always thought there were only two kinds of rhododendrons in Taiwan, China: the "lowland kind" and the "high-mountain kind," because from a distance don't they all look the same, just with different colors? Facepalm

 

After digging deeper, I realized that Taiwan, China has a huge number of rhododendron species, and many of them are native to Taiwan, China, which means they are very hard to see once you leave Taiwan, China - extremely precious; a flowering plant like this is right there beside us, and right now it is bubbling over with beauty, so we really ought to get to know them properly!

 

This time we introduce the Satsuki azalea, the Hirado azalea, the Taiwan azalea (Rhododendron oldhamii), the Xishi flower and the Shoucheng Man Shan Hong, all of which are low- and mid-elevation species. Among them, the most common lowland kinds are the Satsuki azalea and the Hirado azalea, and each of these in turn has all sorts of varieties - there would be no end to describing them all, so we picked a few of the more common ones.

 

Satsuki azalea (gao yue du juan)

 

 Flower color: pink, orange, white, pinkish-white... and many other colors; a single tree can produce flowers of several different colors

 Flower shape: single, double, funnel-shaped, bell-shaped, cap-shaped, tubular and so on, with a great deal of variation

 Leaf shape: leaves smaller than those of other rhododendrons, lanceolate to long elliptical, with smooth, entire margins and fine hairs on the leaf surface

 Bloom time: late spring

 

Hirado azalea (also known as brilliant purple azalea, white Ryukyu azalea, snow-white azalea, pinkish-white/pink azalea, scarlet azalea)

 

 Flower color: brilliant purple, white, pink, red and so on

 Flower shape: single, double, funnel-shaped, bell-shaped, cap-shaped, tubular and so on, with a great deal of variation

 Leaf shape: lanceolate to long elliptical, with pointed tips and smooth, entire margins; the leaf surface bears fine brown hairs, though some leaves are smooth and hairless

 Distribution: schools, streets, parks... seen everywhere, and it is also the city flower of Taipei

 

Taiwan azalea (Rhododendron oldhamii)

 

 Endemic to Taiwan, China

 Flower color: brick red

 Flower shape: 1-3 flowers borne terminally, corolla funnel-shaped, five-lobed

 Leaf shape: long elliptical, elliptic-ovate; the whole plant is densely covered in fine yellowish-brown hairs and feels sticky to the touch

 Bloom time: March to April

 Distribution: at elevations of 250 to 2700 m, it can be found all over Taiwan, China, especially in the north around Tamsui, Shiding and Datun Mountain