Rhododendron Taxonomy
The taxonomy of genus Rhododendron
The classification of Rhododendron by taxonomists and botanists has been ongoing since 1753 and continues today.
This page will attempt to cover the major milestones in this process but do bear in mind that terminology, structure and nomenclature have changed over these centuries and so names presented in historical texts may not be familiar. All the more reason to research and learn: rhododendrons haven’t changed, it’s only the way we look at them that has!
A History of Rhododendron Classification:
An account is given of the history of, and the development of ideas in the classification of Rhododendron from the time of Linnaeus to the present day.*
By W R and M N Philipson
In Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Volume 32 No 2
1973
This digital edition courtesy of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
*This article gives a comprehensive and fascinating description of the development of Rhododendron classification before the major revision which took place in 1980
A History of Rhododendron Classification
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 vol. 1 - Caroli Linnaei . Species plantarum -1753.png)
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 from vol. 1 - Caroli Linnaei . Species plantarum - 1753.png)
A Monograph of Azaleas: Rhododendron subgenus Anthodendron
by Ernest Henry Wilson & Alfred Rehder
Publications of the Arnold Arboretum, No 9; The University Press, Cambridge
1921
A Monograph of Azaleas
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The Species of Rhododendron Second Edition:
The species of rhododendron, other than those of New Guinea, Malaya and Indo-China, arranged in the alphabetical sequence of the series; this edition with the addition of 31 newly-described species
by John Barr Stevenson
The Rhododendron Society; Edinburgh: T & A Constable, University Press
1947 (First Edition 1930)
This digital edition courtesy of Internet Archive
The Species of Rhododendron
Ein System der Gattung Rhododendron L (A system of the genus Rhododendron)
An adaptation of the Balfourian ‘series’ treatment of the genus to that of ‘subgenera’ and ‘sections’
In Botanische Jarbücher für Systematik 74.4, 551-553
Hermann Sleumer
1949
Schweizerbart'sche Verlagsbuchhandlung, Stuttgart
Ein System der Gattung Rhododendron L (A system of the genus Rhododendron)
A Revision of Rhododendron: I. Subgenus Rhododendron Sections Rhododendron & Pogonanthum*
A revision of the lepidote (scaly) species of Rhododendron (Ericaceae),excluding those of the mainly subtropical section Vireya, is presented. Section Rhododendron is divided into 27 subsections, containing 149 species; section Pogonanthum contains 13 species, making a total of 162 in all.
James Cullen
In Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Volume 32 No 1
1980
This digital edition courtesy of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
* The Lepidotes
A Revision of Rhododendron: II. Subgenus Hymenanthes*
A revision of the elepidote (non-scaly) species of Rhododendron subgenus Hymenanthes (Ericaceae) is presented. The subgenus is divided into 24 subsections with 225 species.
David F Chamberlain
In Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, Volume 39 No 2
1982
This digital edition courtesy of Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
* The Elepidotes
Notes from the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh Volume 39 No. 2 1982
The Rhododendron Handbook 1998:Rhododendron species in cultivation
George Argent, John Bond, David Chamberlain, Peter Cox, Alan Hardy
Editor: Karen Wilson
1997
Royal Horticultural Society
This digital edition scanned and digitised with permission of the publisher.
The Rhododendron Handbook 1998
