Rhododendron Research
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heyrhododendron.bsky.social
Rhododendron Research
@heyrhododendron.bsky.social
Research group investigating physiology, ecology, evolutionary biology and conservation of genus Rhododendron. Sharing research, gardens, plant exploration, art, culture, events, anything and everything Rhododendron
Looking for a fun holiday gift for all your plant nerd homies?

They will be absolutely petrified with joy if you get them the Plants With A Past
Inside Fossil Woods Calendar

Just got mine, starting off 2026 right featuring Ericaceae in January!
2026. Plants With A Past.
Each month features a different plant group or fossil wood locality with multiple photomicrographs. The dates for Arbor Days around the world are noted, so you'll know when to take some extra time for...
www.lulu.com
November 25, 2025 at 6:49 PM
Rhododendron campanulatum dominance increased progressively with altitude gain

Leaf traits showed strong negative correlations with rising altitude

Shrubby growth of R. campanulatum aids survival in cold environments

Morphological changes suggest adaptation to harsh alpine conditions
🧪🍁🌏🌐🌿🌱🪴
Adaptive strategies of Rhododendron campanulatum and Rhododendron anthopogon subsp. hypenanthum in the alpine ecosystem of Central Himalaya, India
Rhododendron campanulatum and Rhododendron anthopogon subsp. hypenanthum are significant species of the alpine ecosystem of the Central Himalaya, Indi…
www.sciencedirect.com
November 25, 2025 at 5:28 PM
⬆️high climate sensitivity of Rhododendron arboreum

🤔profound ecological implications incl. phenological mismatches & range contraction

🚨urgent need for elevation specific long-term monitoring and targeted conservation strategies to protect Himalayan Mountain Biodiversity
Climate-Driven Early Flowering in Rhododendron: Field Observations across Altitudes in Bageshwar, Western Himalaya
Climate change deeply impacts plant phenology, mostly in vulnerable high-altitude ecosystems like the Himalaya. This study investigates climate-driven shifts in the flowering phenology of Rhododendron a keystone species and significant bio-indicator to climate warming across a multi-altitudinal gradient (1500-3000 m) in Bageshwar district, Uttarakhand. Combining decadal climate records, attentive field observations (December 2023- October 2024), and invaluable local ecological knowledge from interviews with 150 respondents and a synthesis of recent literature. Analysis revealed a significant mean winter temperature increase of 1.3oC over last few decades in the study area. Results indicate significant advancement in flowering time, especially at lower and mid-altitudes, lower elevations experienced blooming 6-8 weeks earlier. While mid to high elevations showed 3–4-week advancement compared to historical norms. Essentially observation of community independently verified these shifts, with local inhabitants also reporting a perceived decline Rhododendron populations at lower altitudes. These findings underscore the high climate sensitivity of Rhododendron arboreum and highlight profound ecological implications, including potentially phenological mismatches with pollinators and a risk of range contraction. The study emphasizes the urgent need for elevation specific monitoring and targeted conservation strategies of long-term phenological monitoring to protect Himalayan Mountain Biodiversity.
hal.science
November 25, 2025 at 1:16 AM
Rhododendron simsii var. putuoense

coastal 🪴 species unique to East China

Chloroplast genome shows close relationship to R. simsii, supporting recent divergence

🧪🧬🌏
The first complete chloroplast genome and phylogenetic analysis of Rhododendron simsii var. putuoense G. Y. Li & Z. H. Chen (Ericaceae) from East China
We sequenced the first chloroplast (cp) genome of Rhododendron simsii var. putuoense G. Y. Li & Z. H. Chen 2010, an endemic coastal plant species unique to East China, to clarify its phylogenetic r...
www.tandfonline.com
November 25, 2025 at 12:38 AM
🌿 vegetal geography of Chinese rhododendron

👑 botanic gardens transformed from agents of empire to agents of conservation

🎤 voices & labor of collecting teams long neglected

📝 plants actively co-shape scientific authority of an expert institution
🧪🍁🌏🌐
Cultivating Scientific Authority: A Vegetal Geography of Chinese Rhododendrons at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh
The paper presents a vegetal geography of Chinese rhododendrons at the Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh (RBGE), examining the mechanisms through which RBGE's scientific authority is established in the ....
rgs-ibg.onlinelibrary.wiley.com
November 24, 2025 at 2:44 PM
Best writing advice EVER!
👇
Write like no one will read it.
Edit like everyone will quote it.

You'll be unstoppable! 🚀

#WritingCommunity #AmWriting #AmEditing #BookSky #WriteSky
November 19, 2025 at 11:15 PM
Rhododendron coin!
From Nepal, 1972
November 18, 2025 at 11:14 AM
Looking forward to reading this 👏🏼
My special issue on gardens and plants as laboratories of premodern science is out on @royalsocietypublishing.org #notesandrecords #nrrs #histplants #histsci #vegscilif #envhist with articles by me, Luzzini on minerals, @johedesan.bsky.social on Guy de La Brosse, Jalobeanu on Bacon, and Benharrech🌱
November 17, 2025 at 11:13 AM
🧬chromosome-level genome assembly for Rhododendron spinuliferum

🔁genome resequencing 139 individuals 15 pops & 8 spp of subsect. Scabrifolia endemic to SW China

👀centromeres had ⬆️ differentiation vs. gene-rich regions

🤔heterogeneous gene flow may play underapreciated role in plant 🪴 speciation
🧪
The genomic architecture of introgression during Rhododendron speciation
www.research.ed.ac.uk
November 16, 2025 at 1:41 PM
I will never not be confused by interspecific and intraspecific
I get that we moved away from within and among b/c they are not Latin-derived, but for the love of all things chlorophyll, why is an entire field of study leaning into terms that have a same shape-one letter difference in the middle?!
November 16, 2025 at 11:29 AM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
Autumn colors in the Japanese garden at the Seattle Arboretum this past weekend 🌿

buff.ly/SyzWp2m
November 14, 2025 at 3:12 PM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
Have you ever loved someone so much that you followed them around and talked endlessly about them to all your friends and family?

That’s how much we love Rhododendron
For the Love of Rhododendron
Podcast · ARS NextGen · Have you ever loved someone so much that you followed them around and talked endlessly about them to all your friends and family? That’s how much we love Rhododendron, a quirky...
open.spotify.com
May 17, 2025 at 12:35 AM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
10th April 2021: The Azaleas in Heisei Tsutsuji Park 2
Every April, the azaleas in Heisei Tsutsuji Park, located just outside the north exit of Nerima Station, reach their peak bloom.
dararindarling.blogspot.com/2021/04/10th...
Taken with iPhone 6s Plus
November 12, 2025 at 9:35 AM
Shout out and solidarity to all my fellow Great Lakes Region pals who had thick cloud cover last night and so totally missed the whole aurora show, I got an amazing aurora picture from a friend near Memphis Tennessee!!! so much FOMO!!!
November 12, 2025 at 11:23 AM
What’s our cover photo species you ask?
Charismatic AF
Rhododendron calophytum
Rhododendron calophytum

Cold Hardiness Temperature:
-5°F (-21°C)
Sichuan, NE Yunnan, Guizhou

Photos from my 2018 data collection with collaborator Adam Roddy on floral carbon/water economy at Rhododendron Species Botanical
garden, manuscript in progress so stay tuned!
November 4, 2025 at 2:52 PM
🍁Fantastic Fall Color Physiology🍁

You really can’t beat lepidote rhododendrons for fall color

The plants pictured are still small but two stunning color variants here,
grown from wild collected seed

Rhododendron dauricum (E Siberia, Mongolia, N China, Japan)

Rhododendron minus (SE US)

🌿🍁🍂🌱🧪🪴
November 4, 2025 at 2:31 PM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
This coming weekend (November 8th and 9th) I'll be in Federal Way at the Rhododendron Species Botanical Garden as a vendor for their Fall Foliage Festival. Come on out 10am-4pm and browse selections from Nobody Nursery, the Hardy Fern Foundation, and The Green Gargoyle.
November 2, 2025 at 10:07 PM
Indulged in a bit of leaf flipping yesterday

W/world class breeder Joe Bruso

breeding targets include
hardiness zone 4
leaf longevity for densely packed branches
AANNDD
My personal fav…
TOMENTUM
Aka a dense mat of hairs on the abaxial leaf surface

Details in the alt text!

🌐🌍🍁🧪
#plantbreeding
November 3, 2025 at 12:44 PM
🧪 so many bioactive compounds
⏰ so little time
November 3, 2025 at 12:06 PM
previously undescribed 🤯
isolates from
Rhododendron decorum flowers 🌺

iridoid glycoside, rhododeoside C (1)
&
pyridine derivative, rhododeodine A (2)

structures elucidated using 1D & 2D NMR spectroscopy & high-resolution electrospray ionization mass spectrometry

🌱🌎🌐🍁
Isolation and structural characterization of an iridoid glycoside and a pyridine derivative, both previously undescribed, from the flowers of Rhododendron decorum
An iridoid glycoside, rhododeoside C (1), and a pyridine derivative, rhododeodine A (2), both previously undescribed, were isolated from the flowers of Rhododendron decorum. The structures were elu...
www.tandfonline.com
November 3, 2025 at 12:04 PM
🏔️Changbai Mountain is experiencing encroachment by Deyeuxia angustifolia, a low-elevation herb

🌿 Mild to moderate encroachment enhanced growth of Rhododendron aureum esp. at low elevations

🛗elevation influenced R. aureum growth through soil conditions, temperature, precipitation and plant size
🌎🌐🍁
Elevation gradient modulates the effects of herbaceous encroachment on the long-term growth trends and climate sensitivity of Rhododendron aureum in alpine tundra
Abstract. As global warming drives plant upward migration, the alpine tundra of Changbai Mountain is experiencing encroachment by Deyeuxia angustifolia (Ko
academic.oup.com
November 2, 2025 at 12:01 PM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
Are you looking for academic papers on Rhododendron? Check out our rhododendron group on Zotero

We’ve gathered thousands of rhododendron articles, some as old as the 1600’s and many of which you won’t find in academic search engines

FREE TO JOIN!

www.zotero.org/groups/47355...
Zotero | Groups > Rhodo-research.net
Zotero is a free, easy-to-use tool to help you collect, organize, cite, and share research.
www.zotero.org
March 7, 2025 at 5:12 PM
Reposted by Rhododendron Research
Happy Halloween 🎃
from your friendly neighborhood
Bog Witch 🧙

Bogs are key habitat for
Rhododendron tomentosum
a Taiga species w/circumpolar distribution

Bog Witches are fantastic herbalists
they seek this species
for its powerful magical properties described here
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23352748/
October 31, 2025 at 5:28 PM
Happy Halloween 🎃
from your friendly neighborhood
Bog Witch 🧙

Bogs are key habitat for
Rhododendron tomentosum
a Taiga species w/circumpolar distribution

Bog Witches are fantastic herbalists
they seek this species
for its powerful magical properties described here
pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23352748/
October 31, 2025 at 5:28 PM