Pinkshell Azalea

Pinkshell Azalea
Rhododendron vaseyi

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Pinkshell Azaleas grow in only a few of our mountain counties. They are a true, rare mountain treat, but are not that hard to view. To see it, drive south along the Parkway (from Asheville) until you reach the region of the Balsam mountains - roughly halfway between Asheville and Cherokee. They grow on the rocky roadside and steep mountain slopes. Look for them between late May and mid-June. We have a handful of Azalea species in our area, and they can be hard to tell apart. (All of our "Azaleas" are members of the Rhododendron genus of the Heath family.) Frankly, I needed help from a Ranger at the Waterrock Knob Parking Area (on the Blue Ridge Parkway) to identify this one. (Waterrock knob has a visitor info station, so it's a good place to stop on your travels and ask questions.) I noted that the Pinkshell was sparsely foliaged, as if blooming before all its leaves were out. (The picture was taken on 5/25/98.) The shrubs grow less than 10 feet high, usually much less. The leaves are small and relatively narrow.The flowers, but not the stems, were slightly hairy and sticky. They had a pleasant but not very strong perfume. (Some other Azaleas are absolutely sinful with their fragrances.) The stamens extended well outside of the flower, almost twice the flower's length. And obviously, they grow only in high (above 5000 feet) rocky sunny locations of our mountains. Pinkshell Azaleas are unique in one other way - all our other native Azaleas have 5 stamens (except for the Flame Azalea, which will "rarely" have 6). Pinkshell is the only one listed in my technical manual that allows for up to 7 stamens.

A note on the nomenclature (naming conventions) on this site: Scientific names and classifications are constantly being argued and changed, and it drives me nuts. Although I use many different sources for knowledge, for naming consistency I use the "Manual of the Vascular Flora of the Carolinas" by Radford, Ahles and Bell, 1968 edition. This book is a well-established authority for the plants of our region and I've been using it for years. If for some reason I must use a different source for a particular plant, I will make note of it within the descriptive text. Don't like it? Tough!

fdudley@weaversites.com

Fiona Dudley
Weaversites
986 Reems Creek Road
Weaverville NC 28787

828-231-1501