More rhododendrons

This is one of my favorite images that came out of my rhododendron tree research project. Don’t you just adore that voluptuous rain drop hanging on the lip of the leathery leaf? Mmm... I smell rain!

The rhodie in this picture is in fact different from the one I was studying. I pass it on the trail while on my way to the subject-rhododendron. The particular morning of this picture followed a nice night-long rain.

For all I know, the rhododendrons in the forest are all just pieces of one another… it’s difficult to determine where one rhodie ends and the other begins when you look at their growth habits and root systems.

Inside the forest, rhododendrons often appear to reproduce vegetatively (using existing parts to create new plants), as opposed to clear cuts where you can see distinctive baby “saplings” springing up separately, obviously from seed-starts.

trees
forests
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Seabeck
rhododendron