Introduction
Rhododendron cumberlandense (synonymous with R. bakeri
) is commonly known as the Cumberland Azalea. It has a relatively
isolated natural range on the Cumberland Plateau in Kentucky south to
Tennessee and the mountains of Georgia, Alabama, and North Carolina. The
flowers are not large, about 1.5 to 1.75 inches across, and typically range
from yellowish-orange to deep red.
This species is sometimes difficult to distinguish from the larger flowered
R. calendulaceum,
but the blossoms generally appear several weeks
later after the leaves have fully expanded and the undersides of the leaves
are usually waxy white or bluish in color.
The species distinction for R. cumberlandense was first
described by Lemon and McKay in 1937. This native azalea makes an excellent
landscape plant in its own right, but it also hybridizes easily with many of
the other species, producing beautiful hybrids in a
broad range of colors. Many of the brightly colored forms in the
hybrid swarm of native azales on Gregory
Bald probably contain R. cumberlandense genes.
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Distribution Map
Plants in the Wild
#123
Blount Co., TN
(Gregory Bald)
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#124
Blount Co., TN
(Hannah Mt. Trail)
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#125
Towns Co., GA
(Tray Mt. Wilderness)
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#126
Swain Co., NC
(Gregory Bald)
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Variations in Flower Form
#127
Blount Co., TN
(Gregory Bald)
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#128
Towns Co., GA
(Tray Mt. Wilderness)
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#129
Blount Co., TN
(Gregory Bald)
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#130
Monroe Co., TN
(Cherohala Skyway)
Sad Note: When visiting this exceptionally beautiful plant
again in June, 2000, we discovered a
hole in the ground instead of the azalea. Please
leave plants in the wild so others can appreciate their beauty. There was
a broken branch left on the trail that I hope to root so I can return the
plant to its proper home one day. If it roots, we can introduce it as
"Red Robber", "Caught Red Handed", or some other appropriate name.
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Acknowledgement:
The images presented here are reproduced with permission from
color slides taken by the Species Study Group
of the Middle Atlantic Chapter of the American Rhododendron Society.
The slides are numbered, and correspond to the sequence used in the
program Eastern Native Azalea Species
presented by George K. McLellan at the East Coast Regional Conference
of the ARS in November 1999.
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