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Notes (historical):
E.H. Wilson began to cultivate the Rhododendron phoeniceum var tebotan in 1919. It is from Kyushu, Japan, in the province of Chikugo, Kurume. At Kurume, it was known as “Aka-yodogawa.” Aka means “sub-order or sub-family,” but also “scarlet, red, or bloody” in Japanese. It is supposedly the same color as Bougainvillea glabra, which are sometimes scarlet. This variety has double flowers with small green leaves showing at the center. It is known for its remarkable color and uniqueness among azaleas. It is an old plant in Japanese gardens, and used to be quite common, but is now relatively rare. The tree depicted in M-42 is small in scale, and looks like a bonsai tree. The photograph was not taken by E.H. Wilson, but by A.E. Christiansen. E.H. Wilson and Alfred Rehder, A Monograph of Azaleas (The University Press, 1921), 64.
