Originally posted by JohninKY
Actually, an azalea is a shrub.:silly:
Correct John, in fact if I may.....
Azalea are shrubs of the genus Rhododendron and members of the heath family. There are 8 divisions of the genus Rhododendron. Azalea comprise two of those divisions. Azalea are distinguished by large clusters of pink, red, orange, yellow, purple, or white flowers. Typically non-azalea rhododendrons have flowers that are in trusses. The truss is composed of many flowers. Typically an azalea has flowers that have just one flower rather than a truss. The notable exception are the azaleas that have a very tight ball shaped truss.
When Linnaeus created the botanical grouping called genus Rhododendron in 1753, he created a separate genus for Azalea containing 6 species. In 1796 Salisbury pointed out that Azalea and Rhododendron could not be maintained as distinct genera. In 1834, George Don subdivided the genus Rhododendron into 8 sections which are still recognized today. Azalea comprise two of these sections, Subgenus Pentanthera typified by Rhododendron nudiflorum and Subgenus Tsutsusi typified by Rhododendron Tsutsusi.
If flowers grow from terminal buds, new leaves and shoots grow from lateral buds and leaves are deciduous, then the rhododendron is an azalea in the Pentanthera subgenus.
If flowers and leaves grow from the same terminal buds, and the flowers have 5 to 10 stamens, then the rhododendron is an azalea in the Tsutsusi subgenus.....
Uh, sorry....
Listen to Spanky!!
:eek: