Alpen Snow-rose

Alpen Snow-rose
	File:Alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum) (9135007571).jpg
Conservation status
	; Least Concern (IUCN 3.1)
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Plantae
Clade:	Angiosperms
Clade:	Eudicots
Clade:	Asterids
Order:	Ericales
Family:	Ericaceae
Genus:	Rhododendron
Species:	R. ferrugineum
Binomial name
	Rhododendron ferrugineum; L.

The Alpenrose, Snow-Rose, or Rusty-leaved Alpenrose (Rhododendron ferrugineum), is an evergreen shrub that grows just above the tree line in the Alps, Pyrenees, Jura and northern Apennines, on acid soils. It is the type species for the genus Rhododendron.

Description

Rhododendron ferrugineum may grow up to 1.5 m (4.9 ft) tall and produces clusters of pinkish-red, bell-shaped flowers throughout the summer. The undersides of the leaves are covered in rust-brown spots, which give the species the second part of its binomial name (ferrugineum, Latin for 'rust-coloured, ferruginous'). This is in contrast to Rhododendron hirsutum, which has no such brown colouring, has hairy edges to the leaves and grows over limestone. Where the two species co-occur (usually on soils of intermediate pH), the hybrid Rhododendron × intermedium may occur; as its name suggests, it is intermediate in form between the two parental species.

Habitat

Rhododendron ferrugineum grows primarily on acidic siliceous soils, whereas its close relative Rhododendron hirsutum grows on basic carbonate-rich soils. These two types of soils frequently occur near each other in the Alps.

Toxicity

Rhododendron ferrugineum is moderately toxic, containing arbutin, arecoline and rhodoxanthin, and can cause vomiting and difficulties of the digestive, nervous, respiratory and circulatory systems.^[2]

References

↑ Khela, S. (2013). "Rhododendron ferrugineum": e.T203007A2758537. |access-date= requires |url= (help)
↑ "Rhododendron (Alpen Rose - Snow-rose - Rusty-leaved Alpenrose)". 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

External links

Media related to Rhododendron ferrugineum at Wikimedia Commons

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[IUCN-1] Khela, S. (2013). "Rhododendron ferrugineum": e.T203007A2758537. |access-date= requires |url= (help)

[2] "Rhododendron (Alpen Rose - Snow-rose - Rusty-leaved Alpenrose)". 2011. Archived from the original on August 17, 2011. Retrieved 21 April 2024. Unknown parameter |url-status= ignored (help)

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