Scientific name: Rhododendron ponticum L.
Common name: Rhododendron
Description
Habit: A woody shrub, to 5 m high.
Stems: Densely branched, woody, spreading to erect.
Leaves: Alternate, evergreen, hairless and shining; oblong, entire, 10-25 cm long.
Flowers: Mauve-purple, in short terminal racemes; sepals 5 with 5 small rounded lobes; corolla widely bell shaped with the tube shorter than the lobes, 4-5 cm across; stamens 10; style 4-7 mm, ovary superior.
Fruits: A capsule.
Habitat: Woods, hedges, rocky mountainsides, bogs.
Distribution: Very rare on limestone, elsewhere widespread and locally abundant.
Native status: Not native
Of conservation interest: No