Rhododendron ponticum, L.

Tutin, T. G., Heywood, V. H., Burges, N. A., Moore, D. M., Valentine, D. H., Walters, S. M. & Webb, D. A., 1972, Flora Europaea. Volume 3. Diapensiacea to Myoporaceae, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press : 9

2. R. ponticum L. , Sp. Pl. ed. 2, 562 (1762).

Erect, evergreen shrub 2-5(-8) m, with spreading branches. Leaves 8-25 cm, entire, coriaceous, dark shining green above, paler beneath, glabrous. Racemes with 8-15 flowers; pedicels 2-6 cm. Calyx 1-2 mm; lobes rounded. Corolla 40-60 mm, campanulate, violet-purple; tube somewhat shorter than lobes. Stamens 10. Ovary glabrous. In woods or by streams in the mountains; calcifuge. E. part o f Balkan peninsula; S. Spain, C. & S. Portugal; cultivated elsewhere fo r ornament and extensively naturalized in parts o f N. W. Europe. Bu Hs Lu Tu [Be Br Ga Hb].