Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera

Pentanthera
Rhododendron luteum
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
(unranked):	Angiosperms
(unranked):	Eudicots
(unranked):	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Rhododendron
Subgenus:	Pentanthera
Section:	Pentanthera G.Don
Species
See text

Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera is a section of subgenus Pentanthera in the genus Rhododendron. It comprises 15-16 species of deciduous shrubs native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere.

It includes two subsections:

• Pentathera
• Sinensia

Subsection Pentanthera (16 species)

Selected species

• Rhododendron alabamense
• Rhododendron arborescens
• Rhododendron atlanticum
• Rhododendron austrinum
• Rhododendron calendulaceum
• Rhododendron canescens
• Rhododendron colemanii
• Rhododendron cumberlandense
• Rhododendron eastmanii
• Rhododendron flammeum
• Rhododendron luteum (yellow azalea, honeysuckle azalea)
• Rhododendron occidentale
• Rhododendron periclymenoides (pink azalea, pinxterbloom azalea, pinxter flower)
• Rhododendron prinophyllum (rose azalea, roseshell azalea)
• Rhododendron prunifolium
• Rhododendron viscosum (Swamp azalea)

Subsection Sinensia (1 species)

Selected species

• Rhododendron molle (syn. R. japonicum)

The section is closely related to sect. Rhodora, differing from it in the flower corolla having five fully developed lobes, whereas sect. Rhodora has the upper three lobes joined into a single three-lipped lobe.

Cultivation

Most (but not all) of the cultivated azaleas belong to species in this section, and hybrids derived from them.

References

• Germplasm Resources Information Network: Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera
• Huxley, A., ed. (1992). New RHS Dictionary of Gardening. Macmillan.