''Rhododendron menziesii'', also classified as ''Menziesia ferruginea'',
[ is a species of flowering plant in the heath family Ericaceae, known by several common names, including rusty menziesia, false huckleberry, fool's huckleberry and mock azalea.
]
Description
''Rhododendron menziesii'' is a mostly erect or spreading shrub often exceeding in height, and reaching lower heights at higher elevations.[
Its branches are coated in thin, scaly, shreddy bark and its twigs with fine glandular hairs.
The alternately arranged ]deciduous
In the fields of horticulture and Botany, the term ''deciduous'' () means "falling off at maturity" and "tending to fall off", in reference to trees and shrubs that seasonally shed leaves, usually in the autumn; to the shedding of petals, aft ...
leaves are oval in shape with pointed tips, reaching 4 to 6 centimeters long. The leaves are hairy, glandular, and sticky in texture, and have an unpleasant skunk
Skunks are mammals in the family Mephitidae. They are known for their ability to spray a liquid with a strong, unpleasant scent from their anal glands. Different species of skunk vary in appearance from black-and-white to brown, cream or ginge ...
like odor when crushed.[
The ]inflorescence
An inflorescence is a group or cluster of flowers arranged on a stem that is composed of a main branch or a complicated arrangement of branches. Morphologically, it is the modified part of the shoot of seed plants where flowers are formed o ...
is a loose cluster of hanging bell- or cup-shaped flowers in shades of pink to orange to yellow-green. The flower has 4 to 5 petals which are mostly fused into a cylinder, and eight stamen
The stamen (plural ''stamina'' or ''stamens'') is the pollen-producing reproductive organ of a flower. Collectively the stamens form the androecium., p. 10
Morphology and terminology
A stamen typically consists of a stalk called the filame ...
s inside. The bloom period is June and July.[
The fruit is a valved capsule under a centimeter long which contains many seeds.
]
Distribution and habitat
The shrub is native to northwestern North America from Alaska
Alaska ( ; russian: Аляска, Alyaska; ale, Alax̂sxax̂; ; ems, Alas'kaaq; Yup'ik: ''Alaskaq''; tli, Anáaski) is a state located in the Western United States on the northwest extremity of North America. A semi-exclave of the U.S., ...
through the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest (sometimes Cascadia, or simply abbreviated as PNW) is a geographic region in western North America bounded by its coastal waters of the Pacific Ocean to the west and, loosely, by the Rocky Mountains to the east. Though ...
to northwestern California
California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...
and Wyoming
Wyoming () is a U.S. state, state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the south ...
.[
It is a member of the flora in mountain forests. It grows in the understory of subalpine fir (''Abies lasiocarpa''), ]Pacific silver fir
''Abies amabilis'', commonly known as the Pacific silver fir, is a fir native to the Pacific Northwest of North America, occurring in the Pacific Coast Ranges and the Cascade Range. It is also commonly referred to as the white fir, red fir, lov ...
(''A. amabilis''), Coast redwood (''Sequoia sempervirens''),[ western redcedar (''Thuja plicata''), western hemlock (''Tsuga heterophylla''), and other ]conifers
Conifers are a group of cone-bearing seed plants, a subset of gymnosperms. Scientifically, they make up the division Pinophyta (), also known as Coniferophyta () or Coniferae. The division contains a single extant class, Pinopsida. All extan ...
.habitat
In ecology, the term habitat summarises the array of resources, physical and biotic factors that are present in an area, such as to support the survival and reproduction of a particular species. A species habitat can be seen as the physical ...
s where it can grow in deep shade.[
]
See also
*
*
References
External links
Calflora Database: ''Menziesia ferruginea'' (Mock azalea, Rusty menziesia)
— ''active name (5−2017).''
Jepson Manual eFlora (TJM2) treatment of ''Menziesia ferruginea''
— ''active name (2017).''
USDA Plants Profile for ''Menziesia ferruginea'' (rusty menziesia)
— ''active name (5−2017).''
Photo gallery for ''Menziesia ferruginea''
— ''active name (2017).''
menziesii
Flora of Alaska
Flora of California
Flora of Western Canada
Flora of the Northwestern United States
Flora of the West Coast of the United States
Flora of the Cascade Range
Flora of the Klamath Mountains
Natural history of the California Coast Ranges
Taxa named by James Edward Smith
Flora without expected TNC conservation status
{{Ericaceae-stub