White Azalea.Rhododendron viscosum.
Found in swamps and wet lands during July.
This shrub grows from 4 to 6 or even 7 feet high, and branches less regularly than the PinkAzalea, and is somewhat less leafy in habit; it is rather slender, woody-fibred, and the bark is dry and slightly rough. In color, reddish-gray.
The oval leaf is widest near the tip whose extreme point is noticeably sharp; its midrib is marked, and the margin is entire, the edge and underside of the midrib being hairy; the texture is thin and firm, the upper surface glossy. The color of the new growths is a fine green (less golden than its sister) which becomes dark when older. The leaves grow in clustered groups.
The flower is smaller than the earlier Azalea, and its points are more curled; it is pure white in color, the outside of the tube being covered with tiny red hairs which are sticky to the touch. The white stamens, with their straw-colored tips, are shorter than the pistil which is faintly pink-tinted, with a darker tip. The calyx is not observable without close inspection; the green foot-stems are very short; and the flowers are grouped terminally upon the twigs.
There is a reddish tinge to the bud, and the flower is delightfully odorous, and the blooming time is pleasantly prolonged.