H16 – Rhododendrons of China

Rhododendrron of China is a Joint Publication by the American Rhododendron Society and the Rhododendron Species Foundation.

For over hundred years, horticulturist of the Western world have sought the prized rhododendrons of China. By the down of this century, far-ranging botanical expeditions were venturing inland along the great rivers, collecting plant treasures in the most remote areas. Fortune, Wilson, Forrest, Kingdon-Ward, and Rock were among those who gathered information along with specimens and seed, providing botanists and gardeners with most of today’s knowledge of the diverse wealth of the genus Rhododendron in China. Missing, however, was information and perspektive from the Chinese themselves on this important part of their native flora.

In 1974 a Chinese book was published which contained a major section on Chinese rhododendrons, including 283 illustrated species description an a detailed key to their species. Prepared under the supervision of the Beijing Botanical Reaserch Institute, this material integrated recent observations of Chinese botanists with earlier work done by Western and Asian plant hunters and taxonomists. A number of species were newly described.

Rhododendron of China, is the result of a two-year effort to make this material available in English. Under the sponsorship of the Rhododendron Species Foundation, the descriptions and key were translated by Judy Uoung and Dr. Lu-Sheng Chong, and special reference sections were developed by the translators. These include an English-Chinese glossary of nearly 300 terms, a guide to Pinyin pronunciation of Chinese, and a geografic index with modern place names in simplified characters and Pinyin. In addition, all of the original botanic illustrations have been reproduced in this book. For anyone who dreams of rain forests illuminated by the rrosy globes of tree rhododendrons, or of high meadows, pastelled and warmly spiced with China’s dwarf species, this is a rare collection indeed.