SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
Introductory
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
|
Thomas G. Barnes @ USDA-NRCS PLANTS Database |
AUTHORSHIP AND CITATION :
Coladonato, Milo. 1992. Rhododendron periclymenoides. In: Fire Effects Information System, [Online].
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Research Station,
Fire Sciences Laboratory (Producer). Available:
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/rhoper/all.html [].
ABBREVIATION :
RHOPER
SYNONYMS :
Rhododendron nudiflora (L.) Torr.
Azalea nudiflora L.
NRCS PLANT CODE :
RHPE4
COMMON NAMES :
pink azalea
wild-honeysuckle
purple-honeysuckle
pinxterbloom azalea
pinxter flower
election-pink
TAXONOMY :
The currently accepted scientific name for pink azalea is
Rhododendron periclymenoides (Michx.) Schinners [9,10,17]. There are no
recognized subspecies, varieties, or forms.
LIFE FORM :
Shrub
FEDERAL LEGAL STATUS :
No special status
OTHER STATUS :
None
DISTRIBUTION AND OCCURRENCE
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
GENERAL DISTRIBUTION :
Pink azalea grows mostly in the mountainous regions in the eastern
United States from southeastern New York south through the Appalachian
Mountains to Georgia. Outlying populations occur in southern Indiana,
Ohio, and Illinois [1,9,17].
ECOSYSTEMS [6]:
FRES10 White- ed-jack pine
FRES11 Spruce-fir
FRES14 Oak-pine
FRES15 Oak-hickory
FRES18 Maple-beech-birch
STATES: (key to state/province abbreviations)
AL CT DE GA IL IN IA KY MD MA
NJ NY NC OH PA SC TN VA WV
BLM PHYSIOGRAPHIC REGIONS :
None
KUCHLER [11] PLANT ASSOCIATIONS:
K095 Great Lakes pine forest
K097 Southeastern spruce - fir forest
K100 Oak-hickory forest
K102 Beech-maple forest
K103 Mixed mesophytic forest
K104 Appalachian oak forest
K110 Northeastern oak-pine forest
K111 Oak-hickory-pine forest
SAF COVER TYPES [5]:
25 Sugar maple-beech-yellow birch
34 Red spruce-Fraser fir
44 Chestnut oak
46 Eastern redcedar
51 White pine-chestnut oak
52 White oak-black oak-northern red oak
53 White oak
55 Northern red oak
58 Yellow-poplar-eastern hemlock
60 Beech-sugar maple
76 Shortleaf pine-oak
78 Virginia pine-oak
SRM (RANGELAND) COVER TYPES:
No entry
HABITAT TYPES AND PLANT COMMUNITIES :
Pink azalea commonly occurs in mixed deciduous forests [1]. Some common
tree associates of pink azalea are eastern hemlock (Tsuga canadensis),
pitch pine (Pinus rigida), blackgum (Nyssa sylvatica), ironwood (Ostrya
virginiana), oak (Quercus spp.), and birch (Betula spp.). Some common
understory associates include rosebay rhododendron (Rhododendron maximum),
flowering dogwood (Cornus florida), mountain laurel (Kalmia latifolia),
highbush blueberry (Vaccinium corymbosum), and maple-leaved viburnum
(Viburnum acerifolium) [7,8,15].
Botanical and Ecological Characteristics
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
GENERAL BOTANICAL CHARACTERISTICS:
Pink azalea is a low, erect, deciduous, stoloniferous shrub which
grows to 6.0 feet (2.0 m) in height. It has open branches, sparse
foliage, and forms dense thickets. The leaves are simple, alternate,
and mostly in clusters at the tips of the branches. The tubular,
individual flowers are borne in small terminal clusters. The fruit is a
many-seeded, woody capsule [1,2,20].
RAUNKIAER [18] LIFE FORM:
Phanerophyte
REGENERATION PROCESSES:
Pink azalea can reproduce by seed, although details have not been
described. It can also regenerate by layering, sprouting from the root
crown, or by sending out horizontal stems that root at the nodes
[3,9,20]. Pink azalea seed are probably dispersed by small birds
and mammals.
SITE CHARACTERISTICS:
Pink azalea commonly occurs in mixed deciduous forests along
stream bottoms, bogs, shaded mountain sides, and ravines [1]. Wild
honeysuckle flourishes on well-drained acid soils in cool, moist
locations [2,9,17].
SUCCESSIONAL STATUS:
Pink azalea is very shade tolerant [12]. Lipscombe [13] reports
that pink azalea produces a majority of its growth after canopy
closure.
SEASONAL DEVELOPMENT:
Pink azalea flowering dates are from March to May. The fruit
ripens late in the summer and the seed is dispersed in the late fall
[16].
Fire Ecology
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
FIRE ECOLOGY OR ADAPTATIONS :
Pink azalea typically survives fire by sprouting from the root
crown. Birds and small mammals may transport some seed to burned sites
[4,22].
FIRE REGIMES :
Find fire regime information for the plant communities in which this
species may occur by entering the species name in the FEIS home page under
"Find Fire Regimes".
POSTFIRE REGENERATION STRATEGY [23]:
Small shrub, adventitious-bud root crown
Secondary colonizer - off-site seed
Fire Effects
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
IMMEDIATE FIRE EFFECT ON PLANT:
Fire typically top-kills pink azalea [4,22].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF FIRE EFFECT:
No additional information is available on this topic.
PLANT RESPONSE TO FIRE:
In New England, pink azalea recovers quickly after light fires but
more slowly after moderate to severe fires [22].
DISCUSSION AND QUALIFICATION OF PLANT RESPONSE:
No additional information is available on this topic.
FIRE MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No additional information is available on this topic.
Management Considerations
SPECIES: Rhododendron periclymenoides
IMPORTANCE TO LIVESTOCK AND WILDLIFE:
No further information is available on this topic.
PALATABILITY:
No further information is available on this topic.
NUTRITIONAL VALUE:
No further information is available on this topic.
COVER VALUE:
Pink azalea provides cover for a variety of birds and mammals [12,16].
VALUE FOR REHABILITATION OF DISTURBED SITES:
Pink azalea affords erosion control and steep watershed protection
in the mountains of the eastern United States [20].
OTHER USES AND VALUES:
Pink azalea has been cultivated as an ornamental [16].
OTHER MANAGEMENT CONSIDERATIONS:
No further information is available on this topic.
Aquilegia canadensis: References
References
SPECIES: Aquilegia canadensis
REFERENCES :
1. Braun, E. Lucy. 1961. The woody plants of Ohio. Columbus, OH: Ohio State
University Press. 362 p. [12914]
2. Chapman, William K.; Bessette, Alan E. 1990. Trees and shrubs of the
Adirondacks. Utica, NY: North Country Books, Inc. 131 p. [12766]
3. Cooper, S. D.; McGraw, J. B. 1988. Constraints on reproductive potential
at the level of the shoot module in three ericaceous shrubs. Functional
Ecology. 2: 97-108. [9039]
4. DeSelm, H. R.; Clebsch, E. E. C. 1991. Response types to prescribed fire
in oak forest understory. In: Nodvin, Stephen C.; Waldrop, Thomas A.,
eds. Fire and the environment: ecological and cultural perspectives:
Proceedings of an international symposium; 1990 March 20-24; Knoxville,
TN. Gen. Tech. Rep. SE-69. Asheville, NC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Southeastern Forest Experiment Station:
22-33. [16630]
5. Eyre, F. H., ed. 1980. Forest cover types of the United States and
Canada. Washington, DC: Society of American Foresters. 148 p. [905]
6. Garrison, George A.; Bjugstad, Ardell J.; Duncan, Don A.; [and others].
1977. Vegetation and environmental features of forest and range
ecosystems. Agric. Handb. 475. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service. 68 p. [998]
7. Glenn, Marian G.; Wagner, Wendy S.; Webb, Sara L. 1991. Mycorrhizal
status of mature red spruce (Picea rubens) in mesic and wetland sites of
northwestern New Jersey. Canadian Journal of Forest Research. 21:
741-749. [15015]
8. Glitzenstein, Jeff S.; Canham, Charles D.; McDonnell, Mark J.; Streng,
Donna R. 1990. Effects of environment and land-use history on upland
forests of the Cary Arboretum, Hudson Valley, New York. Bulletin of the
Torrey Botanical Club. 117(2): 106-122. [13301]
9. Godfrey, Robert K.; Wooten, Jean W. 1981. Aquatic and wetland plants of
southeastern United States: Dicotyledons. Athens, GA: The University of
Georgia Press. 933 p. [16907]
10. Kartesz, John T.; Kartesz, Rosemarie. 1980. A synonymized checklist of
the vascular flora of the United States, Canada, and Greenland. Volume
II: The biota of North America. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of North
Carolina Press; in confederation with Anne H. Lindsey and C. Richie
Bell, North Carolina Botanical Garden. 500 p. [6954]
11. Kuchler, A. W. 1964. Manual to accompany the map of potential vegetation
of the conterminous United States. Special Publication No. 36. New York:
American Geographical Society. 77 p. [1384]
12. Leach, David G. 1963. Rhododendrons of the world and how to grow them.
New York: Charles Scribner's Sons. 544 p. [10688]
13. Lipscomb, M. V.; Nilsen, E. T. 1990. Environ. & physiol. fact. infl. the
nat. dist. of evergr & decidu ericac shrubs on ne & sw slopes of the s
Appala. Mtns. I. Irradiance tolerance. American Journal of Botany.
77(1): 108-115. [13853]
14. Niering, William A.; Goodwin, Richard H. 1974. Creation of relatively
stable shrublands with herbicides: arresting "succession" on
rights-of-way and pastureland. Ecology. 55: 784-795. [8744]
16. Olson, David F., Jr. 1974. Rhododendron L. rhododendron. In:
Schopmeyer, C. S., ed. Seeds of woody plants in the United States.
Agric. Handb. 450. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Agriculture,
Forest Service: 709-712. [7739]
17. Radford, Albert E.; Ahles, Harry E.; Bell, C. Ritchie. 1968. Manual of
the vascular flora of the Carolinas. Chapel Hill, NC: The University of
North Carolina Press. 1183 p. [7606]
18. Raunkiaer, C. 1934. The life forms of plants and statistical plant
geography. Oxford: Clarendon Press. 632 p. [2843]
19. U.S. Department of Agriculture, Soil Conservation Service. 1982.
National list of scientific plant names. Vol. 1. List of plant names.
SCS-TP-159. Washington, DC. 416 p. [11573]
20. Van Dersal, William R. 1938. Native woody plants of the United States,
their erosion-control and wildlife values. Washington, DC: U.S.
Department of Agriculture. 362 p. [4240]
21. Reynolds, Hudson G. 1950. Relation of Merriam kangaroo rats to range
vegetation in southern Arizona. Ecology. 31: 456-463. [9889]
22. Patton, David R. 1975. Nest use and home range of three Abert squirrels
as determined by radio tracking. Res. Note RM-281. Fort Collins, CO:
U.S. Department of Agriculture, Forest Service, Rocky Mountain Forest
and Range Experiment Station. 3 p. [18447]
23. Stickney, Peter F. 1989. Seral origin of species originating in northern Rocky
Mountain forests. Unpublished draft on file at: U.S. Department of
Agriculture, Forest Service, Intermountain Research Station, Fire Sciences
Laboratory, Missoula, MT. 10 p. [40374]
FEIS Home Page
https://www.fs.usda.gov/database/feis/plants/shrub/rhoper/all.html