Rhodora
Prepared by Jennifer L. D’Appollonio, Assistant Scientist, University of Maine, Orono, ME 04469. Updated February 2018.
Scientific name: Rhododendron canadense (L.) Torr.
Common name(s): rhodora, Canada rosebay
Links: USDA PLANTS Profile, NPIN Profile, Go Botany
Images: (to see enlargements [PC]: click on image, then right click and choose “view image”)
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- in recently cleared blueberry field
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- late May
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- flowers bloom before leaves emerge
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- may also flower with expanding leaves
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- early June, post-bloom
Description:
– perennial, woody shrub
– flowers before and/or with leafout
– rose-purple flowers with two-lipped corolla emerge late May-early June in ME
-reaches 1’-3’ in height
-yellowish twigs
buds clusters at twig end and terminal buds have flowers larger than leaf buds
-leaves are
- Alternate
- oblong to elliptical
- hairy leaves dark green above and light green beneath.
Habitat:
-Prefers bogs and poorly drained soils.
-disturbed sites
-meadows and fields
-shores of rivers
Wildlife uses:
– host plant for the Columbia silkmoth (Hyalophora columbia) in Maine
-attracts bees
Source(s):
Hansen, R.W., S.B. Hansen and E.A. Osgood. 1991. Reproductive phenologies of selected flowering plants in eastern Maine forests. ME Agric. Exp. Station Tech. Bull. 143. 17 pp.
Heinrich, B. 1976. Flowering phenologies: Bog, woodland, and disturbed habitats. Ecology. 57(5):890-899.
Go Botany. “Rhododendron Canadense (L.) Torr.” Rhododendron Canadense (Canada Rosebay, Rhodora): Go Botany, 2021, gobotany.nativeplanttrust.org/species/rhododendron/canadense/.