Grr - I finished my whole posting and didn't save it. Maybe this will help me learn the names, but I doubt it. Last time I mis-identified something as Rhododendron falconeri. Now I wonder if I'm doing that again. That's what the tag said for these flowers. I think these flowers look just like the ones above, but the label said Rhododendron coriaceum. It's not like they were near each other and I could have mixed up the labels. These Rhododendron arizelum flowers get such pretty colouring as they age. The Rhododendron coeloneuron in the front that's flopped to the ground has much better colouring than the one in back. The photos are from the one in front. I'm sure I posted this Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. cinnabarinum last year. I love how the inside and outside of the flowers are different colours. This Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon has Concatenans group on the label and on the database. Is that any different from the Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon that don't have Concatenans on the label? Wouldn't all the R. cinnabarinum be in the Concatenans group? Botany Photo of the Day for April 15, 2014 features Daniel Mosquin's photo of an unidentified rhododendron in the Triflora subsection.
Hi Wendy, I'm just seeing this posting now because it's referenced in Botany Photo of the Day today. I can answer your question about R. cinnabarinum and the Concatenans group by saying that there is also R. cinnabarinum Roylei group. I have no idea what the differences between the two groups are however, I'm not a botanist. I have a a few concatenans rhodos, and I also have "Conroy", which is a cross between a Concatenans and Roylei (and it's gorgeous).
Anna, thanks so much for the reply! I queried both names (Roylei group and Concatenans group) and have come up with quite a bit of information if not actual understanding. This Journal American Rhododendron Society article goes into the history, when R. xanthocodon and R. concatenans were considered separate species, and R. cinnabarinum var. roylei was a variation (variety?) of cinnabarinum. It indicates that at least as of 1985 when the article was written, "R. concatenans [became] considered synonymous with R. xanthocodon". Now I've modified my question to: is Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. cinnabarinum the same as Rhododendron cinnabarinum Roylei group (previous called R. cinnabarinum var. roylei). On this Hirsutum.info page, there is a photo each of Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon and Rhododendron cinnabarinum subsp. xanthocodon Concatenans group, with the first being more orange. I don't know how representative these photos are. [Edited] I see on this Hirsutum.info page that there is quite a bit of colour variation in 'Conroy'. It is very pretty. Here is the link to Taisha MItchell's Botany Photo of the Day writeup, with a focus on the leaves. http://www.botanicalgarden.ubc.ca/potd/2014/08/rhododendron-cinnabarinum.php
Thanks Wendy. P.S., My 'Conroy' has flowers that are somewhere between the colour of mango flesh and papaya flesh. The flowers alone a pretty striking, but against the contrast of the intensely blue leaves they are quite spectacular! I'll have to post a pic next year at bloom time. By the way, the leaves of my particular 'Conroy' plant are quite a bit more intensely blue than any of my R. concatenans. I don't know if that's just an anomaly or possibly a trait of the Roylei parent? Just thought I'd mention it anyway.
