''Rhododendron mucronulatum'', the Korean rhododendron or Korean rosebay (; RR: Jindalrae), is a rhododendron

species In biology, a species is the basic unit of classification and a taxonomic rank of an organism, as well as a unit of biodiversity. A species is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate s ...

native to

Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

Mongolia Mongolia; Mongolian script: , , ; lit. "Mongol Nation" or "State of Mongolia" () is a landlocked country in East Asia, bordered by Russia to the north and China to the south. It covers an area of , with a population of just 3.3 million, ...

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eig ...

, and parts of northern China. It is a

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, ...

shrub that grows to in height, with elliptic or elliptic-

lanceolate The following is a list of terms which are used to describe leaf morphology in the description and taxonomy of plants. Leaves may be simple (a single leaf blade or lamina) or compound (with several leaflets). The edge of the leaf may be regular ...

leaves, long by wide. The reddish-purple flowers appear in late winter or early spring, often on the bare branches before the foliage unfurls. It inhabits forested regions at . The Latin specific epithet ''mucronulatum'' means "sharply pointed", referring to the leaf shape.

Cultivation

The cultivar 'Cornell Pink' has light pink flowers, and has gained the

Royal Horticultural Society The Royal Horticultural Society (RHS), founded in 1804 as the Horticultural Society of London, is the UK's leading gardening charity. The RHS promotes horticulture through its five gardens at Wisley (Surrey), Hyde Hall (Essex), Harlow Carr (Nor ...

's Award of Garden Merit. It is hardy down to but like most rhododendron species requires a sheltered position in dappled shade with acid soil that has been enriched with leaf mould.

Culinary use

, the flowers are used in pan-fried flower cakes called ''

hwajeon ''Hwajeon'' (), or flower cake is a small Korean pan-fried rice cake. It is made out of glutinous rice flour, honey and edible petals from seasonal flowers, such as rhododendron. It is eaten during the festivals of '' Samjinnal'' and Buddha's ...

'', which are traditional for

Samjinnal The Key Holiday () is a keyholiday originated from China, and is celebrated in multiple East Asian countries, including China and Korea. China The Double Third Festival () or Shangsi Festival () is a Chinese festival celebrated on the third ...

, a spring festival. It is also used in infused liquor.

Gallery

File:Korean pancake-Jindallae hwajeon-03.jpg, ''Jindallae-

'' (pan-fried rhododendron flower cake) File:Bog bilberry liquor and Korean rhododendron liquor.jpg, ''Deuljjuk- sul'' ( bog bilberry liquor) and ''jindallae-sul'' (Korean rhododendron liquor) produced in

North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...

File:Rhododendron mucronalatum Koreanatsalea IM7364 C.JPG, Helsinki University Botanical Garden File:Korea-Mount Biseul-Azalea Valley-01.jpg, Azalea Valley, Mt. Biseul, Korea

References

* "''Rhododendron mucronulatum''", Turczaninow, ''Bull. Soc. Imp. Naturalistes Moscou''. 10(7): 155. 1837.
Plants of the World Online
{{Taxonbar, from=Q73315 mucronulatum Flora of Eastern Asia Flora of China Flora of Mongolia Flora of Russia Flora of Japan Taxa named by Nikolai Turczaninow