Rhododendron sect. Pentanthera is a section of subgenus Pentanthera

Rhododendron subgenus Pentanthera

Rhododendron subgenus Pentanthera is a subgenus of the genus Rhododendron. The common name azalea is applied to many of the species, and also to species in some other subgenera.The subgenus includes four sections:...

in the genus Rhododendron

Rhododendron

Rhododendron is a genus of over 1 000 species of woody plants in the heath family, most with showy flowers...

. It comprises 15-16 species of deciduous

Deciduous

Deciduous means "falling off at maturity" or "tending to fall off", and is typically used in reference to trees or shrubs that lose their leaves seasonally, and to the shedding of other plant structures such as petals after flowering or fruit when ripe...

 shrub

Shrub

A shrub or bush is distinguished from a tree by its multiple stems and shorter height, usually under 5–6 m tall. A large number of plants may become either shrubs or trees, depending on the growing conditions they experience...

s native to temperate regions of the Northern Hemisphere

Northern Hemisphere

The Northern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is north of its equator—the word hemisphere literally means “half sphere”. It is also that half of the celestial sphere north of the celestial equator...

.

It includes two subsections:

• Pentathera
• Sinensia

Subsection Pentanthera (14 species)

Selected species

• Rhododendron alabamense
• Rhododendron arborescens
• Rhododendron atlanticum
  Rhododendron atlanticum
  Rhododendron atlanticum , is a species of Rhododendron native to coastal areas of the eastern United States, from New Jersey south to Georgia....
  
  
• Rhododendron austrinum
• Rhododendron calendulaceum
  Rhododendron calendulaceum
  Rhododendron calendulaceum , is a species of Rhododendron native to the Appalachian Mountains in the eastern United States, ranging from southern New York to northern Georgia....
  
  
• Rhododendron canescens
• Rhododendron cumberlandense
• Rhododendron flammeum
• Rhododendron luteum
  Rhododendron luteum
  Rhododendron luteum, Yellow Azalea or Honeysuckle Azalea is a species of Rhododendron native to southeastern Europe and southwest Asia. In Europe, it occurs from southern Poland and Austria south through the Balkans and east to southern Russia, and in Asia, east to the Caucasus.It is a shrub...
  
  
• Rhododendron occidentale
  Rhododendron occidentale
  Rhododendron occidentale, the Western Azalea, is one of two deciduous Rhododendron species native to western North America . The Western Azalea is known to occur as far north as Bandon, Oregon. It is found as far south as the Palomar Mountain area in southern California...
  
  
• Rhododendron periclymenoides
  Rhododendron periclymenoides
  Rhododendron periclymenoides, is a deciduous shrub native to the eastern United States. Flowers appear before the leaves expand. It ranges from New Hampshire to Georgia and Alabama and are relatively frequent though widely scattered along streams, in deciduous forests and woodlands. The ranges of...
  
  
• Rhododendron prinophyllum (rose azalea, roseshell azalea)
• Rhododendron prunifolium
• Rhododendron viscosum
  Rhododendron viscosum
  Rhododendron viscosum, commonly known as swamp azalea or clammy azalea, is a deciduous shrub which is endemic to the United States.-References:**...
  
  (Swamp azalea)

Subsection Sinensia (1 species)

Selected species

• Rhododendron molle (syn. R. japonicum)

The section is closely related to sect. Rhodora

Rhodora

Rhodora is a section of subgenus Pentanthera in the genus Rhododendron. It comprises two species, both deciduous shrubs native to eastern North America:*Rhododendron canadense*Rhododendron vaseyi...

, differing from it in the flower

Flower

A flower, sometimes known as a bloom or blossom, is the reproductive structure found in flowering plants . The biological function of a flower is to effect reproduction, usually by providing a mechanism for the union of sperm with eggs...

 corolla having five fully developed lobes, whereas sect. Rhodora has the upper three lobes joined into a single three-lipped lobe.

Cultivation

Most (but not all) of the cultivated azalea

Azalea

Azaleas are flowering shrubs comprising two of the eight subgenera of the genus Rhododendron, Pentanthera and Tsutsuji . Azaleas bloom in spring, their flowers often lasting several weeks...

s belong to species in this section, and hybrids derived from them.