Rhododendron cumberlandense

E. L. Braun

Rhodora 43: 33. 1941 ,.

Common names: Diploid flame or Cumberland azalea
Endemic
Synonyms: Azalea cumberlandensis (E. L. Braun) H. F. Copeland
Treatment appears in FNA Volume 8. Treatment on page 471. Mentioned on page 457, 465, 466, 470, 472.

Shrubs, to 2 m, usually rhizomatous. Stems: bark smooth to vertically furrowed, shredding; twigs very sparsely to conspicuously multicellular eglandular-hairy (hairs unbranched), otherwise glabrous or densely unicellular-hairy. Leaves deciduous; petiole usually multicellular eglandular-hairy and usually unicellular-hairy; blade ovate to obovate, 3.1–8.1 × 1.3–3.5 cm, thin, membranous to chartaceous, margins entire, plane, unicellular-ciliate, apex acute to obtuse, often mucronate, abaxial surface glabrous or very sparsely eglandular-hairy, (usually glaucous), adaxial surface glabrous or sparsely scattered eglandular-hairy. Floral bud-scales glabrous abaxially, margins usually ciliate distally, glandular proximally. Inflorescences 3–7-flowered; bracts similar to bud-scales. Pedicels 4–9 mm, eglandular-hairy, rarely stipitate-glandular-hairy (then sepals eglandular), otherwise sparsely to densely unicellular-hairy. Flowers opening after leaves have expanded, erect to horizontal, acrid-scented; calyx lobes 1–3 mm, scattered, long-stipitate, usually eglandular-hairy, and unicellular-hairy, margins extremely long stipitate-eglandular-hairy (rarely long stipitate-glandular-hairy, then pedicels eglandular); corolla red, with indistinct blotch or darker-colored region on upper lobe, funnelform, 27–45 mm, scattered stipitate-glandular-hairy, otherwise ± densely unicellular-hairy on outer surface, petals connate, lobes 14–30 mm, tube abruptly expanding into lobes, 14–24 mm (equaling or much longer than lobes); stamens 5, much exserted, ± unequal, 42–62 mm. Capsules borne on erect pedicels, 12–28 × 5–8 mm, sparsely to densely long stipitate-eglandular-hairy and sparsely to moderately unicellular-hairy. Seeds without distinct tails, flattened portion of testa may well developed at each end; testa expanded, dorsiventrally flattened, ± loose. 2n = 26.


Phenology: Flowering summer.
Habitat: Ridge tops, mixed deciduous forests
Elevation: 300-1800 m

Distribution

V8 921-distribution-map.gif

Ala., Ga., Ky., N.C., S.C., Tenn., Va.

Discussion

Rhododendron cumberlandense has a geographic distribution that is concentrated in the Cumberland Plateau and Mountains region with some populations in the southern Blue Ridge. It is most closely related to R. calendulaceum and can be distinguished from the latter by its flowering well after the leaves have expanded, eglandular pedicel and sepal margins, and usually abaxially conspicuously glaucous leaves. Hybrids are known with R. arborescens and R. viscosum. Rhododendron bakeri (Lemmon) Skinner very likely represents a hybrid between R. flammeum and R. canescens, although it has often been synonymized with R. cumberlandense (see K. A. Kron 1993).

Selected References

None.

Lower Taxa

None.

No values specified.

eglandular-hairy +  and glabrous +
eglandular-hairy +, scattered +  and glabrous +
mucronate +, acute +  and obtuse +
Walter S. Judd +  and Kathleen A. Kron +
E. L. Braun +
smooth +  and vertically furrowed +
not flaky +
3.1 cm31 mm <br />0.031 m <br /> (8.1 cm81 mm <br />0.081 m <br />) +
ovate;obovate +
membranous;chartaceous +
scale-like +
unicellular-hairy +  and eglandular-hairy +
0.1 cm1 mm <br />0.001 m <br /> (0.3 cm3 mm <br />0.003 m <br />) +
1.2 cm12 mm <br />0.012 m <br /> (2.8 cm28 mm <br />0.028 m <br />) +
unicellular-hairy +  and stipitate-eglandular-hairy +
0.5 cm5 mm <br />0.005 m <br /> (0.8 cm8 mm <br />0.008 m <br />) +
Diploid flame or Cumberland azalea +
unicellular-hairy +  and stipitate-glandular-hairy +
rotate to crateriform campanulate cylindric globose or urceolate +
funnel;rotate;campanulate +
2.7 cm27 mm <br />0.027 m <br /> (4.5 cm45 mm <br />0.045 m <br />) +
Ala. +, Ga. +, Ky. +, N.C. +, S.C. +, Tenn. +  and Va. +
300-1800 m +
undifferentiated +
fusiform +
acrid-scented +
erect +  and horizontal +
expanded +
usually ovoid;cylindric +
Ridge tops, mixed deciduous forests +
multicellular +
terminal +  and axillary +
deciduous +
? (?) +  and ? (?) +
ciliate +  and unicellular-ciliate +
stipitate-eglandular-hairy +
parietal +, axile +  and placentation +
tenuinucellate +  and unitegmic +
unicellular-hairy +, stipitate-glandular-hairy +  and eglandular-hairy +
0.4 cm4 mm <br />0.004 m <br /> (0.9 cm9 mm <br />0.009 m <br />) +
scale-like +
reduced +
not sticky +
multicellular +
unicellular-hairy +  and eglandular-hairy +
Flowering summer. +
4-5-carpellate +
flattened +
darker-colored +
tan;yellowish-brown or brown +
distinct +
tailed +, flattened-ellipsoidal +  and fusiform +
unequal +
4.2 cm42 mm <br />0.042 m <br /> (6.2 cm62 mm <br />0.062 m <br />) +
procumbent +  and prostrate +
creeping +  and sprawling +
hairy +  and glabrous +
peltate +  and capitate +
straight +
Azalea cumberlandensis +
distinct +
Rhododendron cumberlandense +
Rhododendron +
species +
flattened +
expanded +
expanding +
1.4 cm14 mm <br />0.014 m <br /> (2.4 cm24 mm <br />0.024 m <br />) +
multicellular +
unicellular-hairy +, glabrous +  and eglandular-hairy +
evergreen +, deciduous +  and perennial +
heterotrophic +, autotrophic +  and mycotrophic +