rhododendron
nounUS /ɹoʊdəˈdɛndɹən/
Etymology The obsolete sense derives from Latin rhododendron (“oleander”), from Ancient Greek ῥοδόδενδρον (rhodódendron, “oleander”), from ῥόδον (rhódon, “rose”) + δένδρον (déndron, “tree”). The modern sense comes through the intermediary of the genus name Rhododendron, not closely related taxonomically, but with similar flowers to those of oleander.
1
Obsolete Oleander (Nerium oleander).
2
Any of various flowering shrubs in the genus Rhododendron.
- Rhododendrons and azaleas are plants of temperate regions, the grandest lilies are from temperate Japan, and a large proportion of our most showy flowering plants are natives of the Himalayas, of the Cape, of the United States, of Chili, or of China and Japan, all temperate regions.1869, Alfred Russel Wallace, The Malay Archipelago, volume II, London: Macmillan and Co., page 298:
3
UK Especially, the common rhododendron or Pontic rhododendron (Rhododendron ponticum).
- Synonyms
- rhodie
- Derived terms
28 terms
American rhododendron, bell-flowered rhododendron, bell rhododendron, big leaf rhododendron, big rhododendron, California rhododendron, Catawba rhododendron, coast rhododendron, common rhododendron, dwarf rhododendron Rhododendron anthopogon), great rhododendron, great white rhododendron (Rhododendron decorum, Indian rhododendron, Korean rhododendron, Pacific rhododendron, planter's rhododendron, pontic rhododendron, purple rhododendron, rhododendron cone, rhododendron lace bug, rhododendron leafhopper, rhododendronlike, rhododendron psilocybe, rosebay rhododendron, Singapore rhododendron, Straits rhododendron, tree rhododendron, woolly rhododendron